Coma White
by zeltronica
Summary: Ranma/Ranko finds herself unaware of who she is and later discovers more as to who she is.. Wait did that say Ranko Kuno? that's not right.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the characters in it except the ones I added to make the story interesting.

* * *

**Well a new story I thought up I hope you like it.**

**

* * *

**

**Ranma1/2 Coma White**

**Coma White Chapter:1**

**Some where in Beverly hills California**

Tatawaki Kunu looked quite pleased to everyone that knew him; he finally had his Red-Haired Goddess and he had finally beaten Ranma-Kun soundly. Or at least he thought he had; you know when your insane you don't think about things so clearly. After all, it is very easy to defeat someone that you have found already lying unconscious upon the ground. He had only been displeased about one disturbing aspect, when splashed with hot water his Goddess used to become the dreaded and vile sorcerer known as Ranma Saotome.

As he watched his Red-Haired Goddess, Ranko, he observed her where she sat there on the floor staring at the wall with glazed over eyes. He felt somewhat displeased with himself because of his need to keep his wife Ranko continually on drugs in order to keep her from flipping out on him.

As Ranko rocked back and fourth she stared at the wall where she was watching what appeared to her to be strange little elves running around.

Kuno walked over and took her arm gently. "Come on woman time for bed."

With careful movements, similar to those of a drunk, Ranko slowly rose to her unsteady feet and followed her husband to their large canopied bed. After she had drifted off into an unnatural sleep, Kuno unlocked a special drawer that only he and his servant Sasuke had access to. With practiced ease he removed a medical vial containing a special serum that he had custom brewed by a black market chemist, inserted a disposable syringe into the glass container and measured out a specified dose.

Silently moving over to his wife's side he injected the serum into Ranko's left arm with a clinical detachment and efficiency that showed years of practice. Returning to the drawer, he disposed of the syringe into a medical sharps container, set the vial back into its foam resting place, then closed and locked the drawer.

After completing his nightly ritual's, he returned to his bed and climbed in next to Ranko then pulled the black silken covers up over both of them. Reaching out with his left hand he turned out the lights and then rolled over to cuddle himself up tight against the body of his drug stupured wife. As his eyes closed, he slowly fell into a light troubled sleep.

**The Tendo Dojo.**

Leaning back in a depressed slump, Akane tipped her head back and gulped a generous swig of malt liqueur while she poured over an age faded crumpled and tear stained letter addressed to her from Ranma. She couldn't understand why he had ran away from her on their most important day, the day of their wedding.

Akane started to cry while talking to her sister. "I just don't get it he asked me to get married and I waited at that Alter for over an hour, but he didn't show up. He didn't even say goodbye or take his stuff with him." Akane drunkenly cried to her sister.

Shaking her head, Kasumi listened once more to Akane's drunken ramblings with a small frown on her face. "Akane I don't know what to tell you it doesn't seem right to me. After all these years it still doesn't make any sense to me. But it's been ten years now. You have to stop wallowing in this misery, it is ruining your life. And if you don't stop drinking like this, it will kill you, little sister.

Akane looked at her sister with tears in her eyes. "You think I don't know that! I am trying! It's hard every time I turn around I see his ghost everywhere I look." With an angry movement, Akane punctuated her statement by throwing the half empty bottle against a wall where it shattered and sent glass filled liqueur everywhere.

Nabiki shook her head in dismay when she heard the sound of shattering glass from the other side of the room as she continued searching for a clue to Ranma's whereabouts.

"This baffles me, he had me pull all the stops out for this wedding, and hes disappeared from the face of the planet.." ~Nabiki stated quietly to herself.

Sitting next to Nabiki, Nodoka watched the ongoing search. "It's been ten years now, and narry a word or trace of him has been found. I am afraid that we may never find him." Nodoka said with quiet despair as she sat next to Nabiki and watched her ongoing search.

**One day later in Beverly Hills**

Kuno leaned in and gave Ranko a quick kiss on her unresponsive lips. As he moved back he placed a pill in her mouth and stood over her long enough to make sure she had swallowed it. "I'll see you after work woman behave yourself." He said kindly.

As she watched him leave, Ranko listlessly raised her hand and waved a brief goodbye with an inelegant, plain flip of her wrist. After she was sure he had left, she distastefully spat the pill out onto the floor next to where she sat rocking back and forth and stared at it as if in deep contemplation. As she rocked she found the desire to speak well up inside her, but she found herself incapable of uttering a single word.

Looking around the room, her gaze came to rest on a short, stocky man with unusually large black eyebrows and catlike whiskers who was wearing a purple hood with a black dogi and loudly snoring in a recliner. For the life of her, she couldn't remember his name but he seemed somehow familiar. With slow careful movements she quietly rose to her feet as she picked the unwanted pill up off the pristine marble floor. With a practiced movement she tossed it across the room into an expensive Greek vase where it landed with a hundred or more other pills she had disposed of in a similar manner. Spotting a window with the shades drawn, she slowly stumbled over to gaze out of it, but she had to quickly turn away from the bright view because her eyes were too sensitive to the light.

_'Where am I? Who am I? Why can't I talk?' _These thoughts ran through her head as she stumbled down a hall towards her bedroom intending to try and find some means to discover who she was. Rummaging through the closet, she found a variety of objects that she tossed out onto the floor, until an old ladle and a battered pail caught the attention of her curious eyes.

Ranko thought about this until a man named Herb popped into her thoughts and brought a powerful headache along for the ride causing her to wince as she lifted her hands up to hold her head. After tossing the pail and ladle to the floor, she rifled through some paperwork but only found the familiar yet unfamiliar name of Ranko Kuno on several different certificates, she knew her nick name was Ranko, she also knew that it wasn't her real name. She couldn't figure it out, every so often she would have dreams where she looked in the mirror and saw the reflection of a raven haired boy standing there looking back out at her.

"Really Mistress Kuno you do love to toss things around, don't you?" Sasuke said when he entered the bedroom after being awoken by the sounds of thrown objects bouncing off the floor as he slept in the comfortable recliner.

Ranko turned her eyes toward Sasuke and gave him a blank expression. As she watched, he pulled out some pills from his pocket, reached up, and then placed them into her mouth. Before she had a chance to react, she allowed him to insert them and she reflexively swallowed. She thought to herself before things went too hazy. _'I must deal with this guy one of these days.'_

A satisfied Sasuke led Ranko over to the bed, and watched until he was sure she was asleep. Then he went to the task of putting everything back in its proper place. _'I don't think the drugs are keeping her under anymore.' _He thought to himself for a few minutes and arrived at the realization that his master would be in potential danger should Ranko ever remember who she was.

Around 2:30 pm a little girl about the age of ten crawled into bed with Ranko and laid down next to her. The girl's hair was a striking cobalt blue with red stripes and her eyes were the same rich, blue color as Ranko's. Ranko opened her eyes for a second as the familiar, yet unfamiliar girl laid down next to her.

_'I know she's my daughter but why does it seem so foreign for me...' _Ranko thought to herself and then tried to force herself to speak but nothing came out. With a feeling of frustration, she nudged the little girl to gain her attention so she turned her head to look behind her at her mother.

"Momma you finally out of lala land?" Rayne asked.

Ranko shook her head yes even though her eyes still had a glazed look. Pointing towards the door she looked at her daughter and nodded.

The girl looked at her mother and then at the door. "Oh you mean the funny man?" she questioned.

Ranko gave her daughter another nod.

The girl smiled and then said "Yea he's asleep."

Ranko pointed to her chest and then tried to figure out how to gesture for the girl's name.

"Seriously Momma how many times do I have to tell you that I am Rayne, remember? I turn into a boy when hit with hot water?" The girl chuckled at her mother.

Ranko looked confused but felt like she was in familiar territory now.

Rayne smiled at her mother. "Yea sorry Mom, forgot to change before I came home." Rayne looked at her mom and then continued with a worried look. "Momma will you please stop taking drugs I don't want you to overdose on me."

Confused, Ranko looked at her daughter and once again shook her head. With a feeling of exasperation at her inability to communicate, she saw a pen and a piece of paper. Picking them up, she jotted some words down and handed them to her son turned daughter.

Rayne eyed the paper. "Mom you're not taking medications. They're drugs. Daddy says you take them to keep yourself happy all the time."

Ranko frowned and wrote a few more words on the paper.

Rayne shrugged as she read what her mother had written. "I don't feel happy right now. I am confused and I cannot talk."

Ranko had a wave of memories flood her mind where she saw a blue haired girl with a cute smile. She was revisited by the mirror image of the black haired boy again along with an old man in a dirty old white gi.

Ranko sat quietly running things through her head such as her name.

She had thoughts of a girl named Akane saying things like "Ranma your such a Jerk." Or a woman that looked much like she did, but older saying "Ranko you should at least try to dress more like a girl." Followed by an old man who may have been her dad saying "Ranma you are the sole heir to the Saotome Anything Goes Martial Arts." She continued to think on this until she put two and two together. She tried to speak but nothing came out.

Jotting down some words on her paper, she handed it to her child. "I think my name is Ranma Saotome, I don't know for sure, it's hazy. Look can we get out of here honey?"

"You mean you wanna go play outside with me?" Rayne happily asked her mother.

Ranko looked at her daughter shrugged and then nodded. _'Sure why not kiddo I need to get out of here I don't belong here I don't think.' _She thought as she slowly got up with a staggering walking to the closet where she found a dirty old pack that held familiar looking clothing in it.

Putting them on she felt a sense of familiarization as she looked in the mirror. Noting the red silk shirt and the black silk pants were loose, she tightened her belt around her waist to help hold them up.

Grabbing the pail and the ladle, she placed them in the pack along with several other items that she felt would be useful; such as her birth certificate and her identification with the name Ranko Kuno on them.

Looking back into the mirror she wondered why her hair wasn't the color that she remembered, instead it was now cobalt blue with red strips running through it.

_'How come my hair isn't familiar to me?'_ She thought with a frown.

Ranko turned toward her daughter and pointed to her hair.

Rayne smiled. "It's your natural hair color, it used to be red til' the drugs you have been taking changed it. That is what daddy told me. I've had this color of hair all my life."

Rayne left the room and came back ten minutes later with a pack of her own except this time he was a boy. "Ready to go mom?" He nervously asked Ranko.

Ranko looked at the Raven haired boy that reminded her of the boy she had remembered viewing in the mirror, but younger. She nodded her head as they headed out to the hall towards the door.

Sasuke saw Ranko and Rayne coming down the hall and moved to intercept them as he said tiredly. "Now, now Mistress Kuno, you know better than to be out of bed this late in the evening... Willingly return to your bed, and I won't have to use force."

Continuing towards the door with her son following behind her, Ranko looked blankly at the weird dude whom she had trouble remembering. Every time she heard the phrase `Mistress Kuno' she got this strange image of a maniacal girl with raven black hair dressed in a leotard.

When Sasuke moved forward to bar her attempt to leave, Ranko dropped her pack, instinctively grabbed his arm, slammed him in to the wall and then struck him in the back of the neck to render him unconscious. Pausing for a minute to eye her handy work she wondered to herself. _'That was strange how did I do that?'_

After Ranko had made sure that Sasuke wasn't going to die or anything, she put her pack back on and then opened the front door so that she and her Son could make their escape.

_'Where am I going... and why?' _Shaking herself from these thoughts, she took her son's hand and they walked down the driveway towards the street.

After traveling for what seemed like hours night began to fall, so Ranko and Rayne stopped underneath a train bridge that was located near a slightly run down part of town. Looking for a safe place to sleep, they began climbing up onto the frame work of the bridge so they would be obscured from sight.

Feeling sick, Ranko laid down and passed out as sweat dripped from her face onto the steel of the bridge. Rayne curled up next to his mother, laid a blanket over both of them and went to sleep feeling troubled by his mother's condition.

**Dream state**

Walking down a disturbingly familiar street, Ranko was approached by a boy sporting a pigtail. "Yo Ranko, long time no see. You don't come around much anymore."

When Ranko saw the boy, she let out a high pitched "EEK!" "Do I know you?" she laughed

The boy smiled at her. "You should, you are me, Ranma Saotome, remember?"

Ranko looked confused. "My name is Ranko."

Ranma smiled at her as he gave her an appraising look. "He's got you strung out on some type of drugs doesn't he? Look, you have a son that has your eyes and your hair in boy form, but in his girl form he has your hair color. Don't tell me that you can't see a pattern here. Kuno is drugging you to keep you from knowing who you are."

Ranko doubtfully looked at Ranma. "I don't understand, I had red hair, didn't I?"

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and also nodded. "Yea you did at one time, but cause you had a child while being on those drugs, the curse affected you by changing your hair color and at the same time Rayne's."

Ranko then took a long and hard look at Ranma. "Wait you said you are me? I am not a boy."

Ranma nodded. "Your right you're not a boy anymore thanks to that ladle Kuno stole from Herb, but you shouldn't dwell on that now it's more Important you get home with your child where you belong. Akane is probably worried sick over your disappearance."

Ranko eyed Ranma. "Who's Akane?"

Ranma gave Ranko a sad look. "Look I don't have time to explain that. We will have to talk later, alright?" With those words, Ranma disappeared as the loud roar of a large train streaking overhead snapped her out of a sound sleep and shook the beams of the bridge where she and her son slept with a frightful power as it journeyed towards it's unknown destination. With a worried glance, she checked to see that her son was safe and discovered, much to her surprise, that he was still deeply asleep despite the appearance of the noisy, night time visitor.

With slow tired movements they followed the meandering course of a river as it flowed off into the distance towards the south.

**Kuno mansion.**

"What do you mean my wife took all of my guards out, and as for you Sasuke, you miserable worm, how did this happen? Weren't you keeping her on the drugs as I requested." Kuno furiously demanded.

Sasuke was nearly at a loss for words as he timidly replied. "Master Kuno, I don't know what happened. She's been restless lately; searching the room for items, and stuff a lot more frequently. I don't think the drugs are doing any good anymore."

Kuno furiously kicked over a vase that he believed to be empty. When it hit the floor, it scattered a large number of semi-dissolved pills across the tiled surface. Seeing this, Kuno got a worried expression on his face. 'Could it be she's remembered who she is?'  
"Sasuke we must find her at once! Ready some search parties. I want my wife and child back home where they belong." Kuno raged.

Sasuke shook his head as he pondered the situation. This was the twentieth time Ranko and Rayne had made a break for it. Each time she was becoming more and more like her old self, except this time she was able to fend him off. Then there was Rayne. Though he/she was only ten years old, he/she was highly crafty and smart.

**Back to Ranko and Rayne**

As Rayne and her mother approached a bustling school yard Ranko could see kids playing outside during recess.

Rayne led her mom into the school yard.

"Wait here mom I need to get sis, she goes to this school and she stays here during the school year." Rayne stated plainly.

While Ranko watched, her son entered the school yard and approached a white haired girl that he began talking to. She thought to herself 'This just keeps getting better, and better... Not only do I have a son, but now I learn I also have a daughter. How interesting...'

Rayne, and the white haired girl made their way over to Ranko.

"Momma this is Rei, she's my younger sister who is also your daughter."

Rei looked at Ranko and asked hesitantly. "Bubba is Momma finally off the drugs?"

While Ranko listened to her children speak one to another, she felt a great sadness that she couldn't speak to them as well.

"Yea sis, she's finally snapping out of it. Wanna come with us? We're running away from daddy." Rayne stated in a cheerful voice.

Rei smiled at Rayne, and then jumped up to latch her arms, and legs around her mother.  
"Carry me please?" She asked Ranma with a sweet smile.

Ranko let out a sigh as she put an arm around her daughter while carrying her as they walked away from the school.

_'Where do I go.. Rayne is just a kid he can't possibly know where we are going can he?' _Ranko pondered.

After Ranko tapped her son on the shoulder, she pointed at a sign that listed one set of directions and then pointed at another sign with a different set of directions. With an expressive shrug of her shoulders she managed to convey the gist of her question to Rayne.

Rayne smiled at his mom and happily announced. "We are going to Japan. I heard you mumbling about having lived there in your sleep."

Ranko frowned and thought to herself. _'How the hell are we gonna get there I ain't got no money..' _

With that worry in her head she began to panic. _'How can I take care of two children without any money when I can barely take care of myself; let alone get all three of us to Japan? I need some cash right now and since I can't return home to get some, I guess I'm gonna have to find some out here.'_

Scanning the area for ideas, she noticed an isolated ATM, sitting off by itself. With a furtive look to her left and her right she noted the absence of anyone else in her immediate vicinity so she walked over to examine the cash dispenser. As she stared at the machine, she felt a familiar plan begin to form in her head. While she thought about her emerging idea she heard a long forgotten voice lecture in her head; _'sometimes you have to do something wrong to make it in this world, boy.'_ With those words she recalled watching a man in a dirty white gi with round eye glasses smash an ATM open with his bare hands and remove all of the money inside.

After taking a deep breath, she re-examined the area to make sure they were alone and quickly slammed her fist forward driving it deep into the machine with enough destructive force to blow the door to the safe of the ATM wide open in a mangled explosion of steel and plastic. With hurried and furtive movements she quickly emptied the contents of the machine, then hurried off with her children in tow before anyone came to investigate the loud noise.

After several blocks they noticed a large retail outlet store. Upon entering the store Ranko grabbed a cart and started to shop for basic supplies. These included a pack for Rei, along with some extra clothes for her children and herself; some dehydrated camping food, a tent, sleeping bags, canteens with a supply of water, some flash lights, a battery operated lantern, batteries, a portable radio, cooking gear that included a small stove, plus several pads of paper and pens.

While in the electronics department she watched a local news broadcast to see if there was any mention of her and her children. She didn't know how long or how hard her husband would pursue them, but she knew that he would come sooner or later. With a grateful sigh, she turned away from the program as it started to cover the latest basketball game without there having been any mention of Ranko Kuno or her two children.

After several hours of hiking they came upon a lovely isolated beach, that looked out over the broad pacific ocean. The bright setting sun painted the sky and the water with a panorama of reds, oranges and yellows. Before weariness could drop her off into the bliss of a well earned sleep, Ranma and her children quickly set up the new tent and arranged their bedding. After a quickly heated supper of reconstituted spaghetti, they watched the sun finish sinking below the horizon. Afterwards, they crawled into their tent and were lulled into a deep weary sleep by the sounds of various sea birds and the ocean waves as they moved and rhythmically fell on the sand.

**Dream park**

Ranko met Ranma in the park sitting on a bench. "Hey Ranko, hows it going?"

As she sat down next to Ranma, Ranko replied. "Its peachy, but you didn't tell me I had a daughter as well..."

Ranma gave her a smirk. "Sorry must have slipped my mind remember anything else?"

Ranko shook her head while furrowing her brow. "I don't really know much of anything new, and I am starting to feel sick."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "It's called withdrawal. Your getting that cause your body is used to having drugs in it's system and now you're going cold turkey. Now back to our conversation from yesterday; you asked who Akane was. Well that is simple she's your fiancé, or was. I'm not sure anymore you kinda didn't make it to the wedding."

Ranko turned an inquisitive eye to Ranma. "Wait, I was supposed to marry this Akane?"

Ranma nodded. "Yea, you planned the whole thing with the help of your mom, and well on the big day you got into an altercation with Ryoga while in female form, and well you got hit by a car while dodging his attacks."

Ranko frowned. "Wait a minute, you said you are me, so how do you know I got hit by a car?"

Ranma smiled "Very perceptive of you, I am your curse. I am just telling you what happened." With a slight shrug of his shoulders he continued "When Kuno saw your girl side get hit by the car, he took you to a friend of his to make sure you would survive. That's also when he discovered you were a boy. So he did some research on your curse to find a way to lock it. Once he discovered the musk artifact, he paid some thieves to steal the ladle and pail from Herb in order to lock your curse."

Ranko shrugged her shoulders "Well since we are on the subject of a cure, and you're the curse, is there a cure?"

Ranma shook his head. "No, sorry Ranko, you destroyed that a long time ago by accident."

Ranko looked down at some leaves blowing about. "Yea your probably right, I just wish I could remember everything, Where do I go from here?"

Ranma smiled at her. "Well I can tell you that. Find a boat and pay for three tickets to Japan. Personally that's what I know I would do. Once you are there, go to Nirmia and it will all come back to ya from there. I promise."

Ranma looked around his surroundings before standing up to leave. "Well good luck Ranko, I will see you in Japan." with those words he headed off and disappeared into the distance just as Ranko woke up snuggled against her children.

Rayne, and Rei woke up an hour later to the smell of cooking fish. Looking over they saw their mom cooking some freshly caught fish using the cooking supplies from her pack and the seasonings they had bought from the store.

"Mom you know how to camp, huh?" Rayne asked, though he could easily spot that his mother had done this before.

Looking up from her cooking fish at her son, Ranko pulled out a pad and a pen, wrote down a note and then handed it to her son which read: "I guess it just came natural to me. I hope both of you are hungry, it took me a little while to catch these."

Rayne, and Rei both eyed the note, smiled at their mother and in unison said. "Yes we love fish."

* * *

**Note: This is not a story approving of drugs what so ever if you think that your messed up.**

**Next chapter Ranko and kids get to Japan.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fan Humor:**

**"Kuno no those files go there!" Ranma yelled as she whacked Kuno several times with a bokken.**

**"I am sorry my Pig-Tailed-Goddess!" Kuno said holding his hands up to protect his head.**

**Ranko took a breath before saying. "Kuno your trying my patience, I am Akane's girl not yours.**

* * *

**Note: This chapter Ranko gets to Japan and is reunited with her mother.**

**I hope you continue to enjoy this story.**

* * *

**Coma White Chapter:2**

**Breakfast at the bay**

Ranko turned the fish a couple of more turns and made sure they were prepared properly. Once they were done, she set them on some napkins and handed them off to her children, while taking tiny bites of her own fish and nibbling at it.

Rayne took a hesitant bite and looked up with a surprised smile. "Thank you momma, this is very good."

Rei tried hers and gave Ranko an agreeing look.

As Ranko settled back against the wall and ate her food she felt mildly sick, but she knew she had to force herself to keep going. She looked at her children and gave them a welcoming smile, instead of trying to write while she was lazily eating.

Once the kids had their fill, Ranko put the fire out using a nearby bucket she had found slightly submerged on the shore, and filled with water in order to douse the flames. Once she was sure the fire was out she then broke camp Taking some time, to pack the tent and the cooking gear, etc.

After gathering her pack and her kids, they headed down stream while following the river towards the boat docks. She ran thoughts of a flight but quickly squashed those thoughts having an idea there would be people all over looking for her so a unknown charter boat would be the key she needed to get home.

After arriving at the boat docks she and her children walked down a rickety, slick, wooden dock toward a nearby fishing boat. Spotting a man in a fishermen cap that was tending his boat, she quickly pulled out her note pad and jotted down some information. Walking over to the man she handed him the note.

Having read the note, the man took a long hard look at the attractive, pale skinned, but sickly looking woman with red and blue hair. "I am Captain Cole, and as for a ride I don't think my boat would get you that far darling I could probably get you a little ways closer, but you would have to transfer onto another boat."

Ranko thought about the information she had just received, quickly scribbled out another note and then handed it to him.

Having read the note, Cole suspiciously looked her in the eyes. "Your life as well as your children's are in danger you say?"

Ranko shortly nodded yes and then carefully composed a longer note.

Cole nodded along as he read the new note. "Well, if your husband has been drugging you, wouldn't it be better to go to the Police?"

Ranko thought on that running different things through her head remembering the ATM she knocked off shaking her head pointing back at the note.

Cole thought about this for a few minutes before nodding for them to get on the boat. He further informed them that he would only take them as far as he could. At that point, he would hand them off to a good friend that would meet them at a pre-arranged location.

Ranma and her two children sat against the back of a bench as the boat rocked Gently on the ocean. After checking over her shoulder, she eased herself back before closing her eyes for some much needed rest, while trusting Rayne to keep watch.

As Rei leaned over the rail of the ship and watched the steady movement of the water, she found it had a calming effect on her unsure mood. "Bubba, what do you think it is going to be like?"

Rayne looked at his sister and shook his head. "I don't know sis, we have never lived in Japan, it may be very different."

Rei thought about these words before leaning against her mom. "Mom looks peaceful right now, doesn't she?"

Rayne nodded his head and gave Rei a smile. "Yea she does. Why don't you get some sleep?"

Rei gave her brother a loving smile before falling asleep next to her mother.

Rayne shrugged his shoulders, dug through his backpack and then pulled out a book to read for the trip. _'Hopefully we will get to Japan, and when momma comes out of her sickness she can teach me, and my sis the art.' _He thought to himself.

As they grew up, Sasuki would entertain Rayne, and Rei with grand stories of Ranko's exploits with a careful twist to them. The tales he wove claimed she hadn't always been on drugs, and that she had been a highly skilled martial artist in her hay day.

Rayne thought of Sasuke._ 'I hope Father isn't hurting him too bad.'_

After unhitching the lines from the dock, Captain Cole carefully coiled the loops of rope on the deck of the ship. Strolling across the deck with the rolling motion of man with a good set of sea legs, he took his place behind the wheel of the ship. With an appraising look at the sleeping woman he had taken under his wing, he shook his head and then spoke to Rayne in a kind but firm voice. "You listen to me boy, when you get to where you're going, you better get her to a clinic or a doctor. I don't know what's keeping your mother going, but she will eventually crash."

While Rayne was smart, he was still young, therefore he was unable to fully understand what Captain Cole was trying to say to him. "What do you mean sir?" He confusedly asked

Cole gave the innocent boy a shrug. "What I mean is that it is typical for someone that has been on drugs as long as your mother has to experience extreme withdrawal symptoms along with a crash, or let down, that can possibly be fatal."

With a quick jerk of his head, Rayne gave his Mom a concerned stare and then turned a worried gaze towards Captain Cole.

After catching Raynes worried expression, Cole gave him a reassuring smile. "Not to worry too much, she's a fighter, I am sure she will pull through it."

**Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.**

After a couple days of travel, they arrived at their scheduled destination where they were moved to the cargo boat owned by Captain Cole's friend via plank after he explained the situation to his friend named Jack.

After Jack had listened to his friend Cole, he said. "Well, I can have Doc look at her. He can probably keep her going til they get to their destination, but she looks really sick, and is probably getting worse."

As Jack, and his crew made their way toward Japan, Doc took a look at Ranko.

Jack looked at Doc, and then back at Ranko. "So, is there anything you can do?"

The Doc smiled. "Well she is just severely dehydrated, I am sure if we can get some fluids back into her she will be fine. It is what happens when she gets to Japan that is vital, cause she looks to have been on some serious drugs that I can't fully identify. But, I can tell you this, she isn't normal by far; most people would be dead right now."

Jack nodded his head "Well do what you can Doc, if we are lucky she will get over this before she gets to where it is we are dropping her off."

Doc watched Jack leave before checking Ranko's vitals. _'She's a fighter she will make it I am sure her will alone is keeping her going for her two children.'_ He quietly thought to himself.

**The Docks **

Having tracked Ranko and the kids to the docks and talking with several different people, Sasuke had found out that Ranko had chartered a boat and sailed from America. After waiting for several hours, he finally called Kuno and informing him that she was on a boat and was on her way to Japan. Once he had hung up, he stated aloud to himself. "Good luck Ranma, I hope you can forgive me for allowing this to happen for so long."

**Two months and four boats later**

In a desperate attempt to combat the massive headache that pulsed and throbbed behind her eyes, Ranko took a generous gulp of coffee that the galley cook had kindly gave her. Luckily it wasn't quite hot enough to seriously burn her, but her newly tortured tongue let her know that she should have taken it a bit slower and only sipped the caffeinated beverage. While carefully cradling the mug that held the black liquid she seemed to currently live on, she scribbled out a quick note and showed it to the Captain of the boat they were currently on.

Captain Jaing read it, and took a breath before speaking. "Yar, this boat be heading to Japan to drop off some supplies, and what not. I just ask that you and your kids stay to your quarters; The men ain't used to a woman being on board, they are superstitious being woman are bad luck to be havin on board you understand."

After taking another sip and then swallowing, she penciled out another note.

Jaing read the note, and then nodded at her. "Good we are in agreement I will have your food delivered to you, and let you know as soon as we arrive."

Once Jaing had left, Ranko laid down to rest. Thanks to the supply of pills Doc had gave her to help sate her with drawl problems, she felt a little better.

Meanwhile, Rayne, and Rei played checkers on the floor to keep themselves busy.

Ranko watched them play with an interested look. After writing out a note she handed it to her son.

Rayne read it and then looked at his mother with a smile. "Well, me and sis like playing checkers and chess. We also love the internet, it's a great way to learn what is what; Or at least that's what Sasuke said."

Ranko While pondering her son's words, especially the name Sasuke, she struggled to make sense of her befuddled memories. After thinking for awhile, she decided that she may remember him as her husband's retainer. With a disgusted shake of her head she ruminated. _'Ugh, why can't I remember anything. I am tired of everything being so damned hazy!'_

She laid back against her pillow and tried to think of what to do about her husband because he obviously didn't love her. Especially if he was drugging her to keep her from knowing herself. _'When I get out of this I want a divorce!' ~_she thought venomously.

**Two days later.**

For the most part the trip had been uneventful, except for a slight storm that had passed over the ship. Ranko's children had held onto her tightly with trembling fear as if she was their life preserver should the boat sink.

After prying her kid's off, she stood up, and walked to the door of their cabin, and opened it to go out onto the deck. She didn't care if a storm was brewing because she desperately needed some fresh air. The enclosed cabin was making her go bonkers. giving her a good case of claustrophobia.

Rayne and Rei keept close to their mother, and kept a tight hold of her pants as they walked.

Standing by the railing, Ranko looked out at the angrily churning sea lit by the flash of lightning striking here and there, and accompanied by loud booming thunder that made her kids jump a little.

Rayne felt scared. Due to the cold rain, he was now female, and he didn't have a lot of confidence in this form do to the way his father had treated him in his girl form always berating him saying girls are weak, and would crumble under pressure. So, like his sister, she was worried the boat was going to sink.

The creaking of heavily stressed metal could be heard throughout the hull of the ship.

A sailor named cookie walked over to them, took a double take at Rayne's appearance, shook his head and pointed at the stairs. "You three best get below. The storms gonna get worse, and I don't wanna see you get washed overboard."

With a brief nod at the sailor, Ranko led her children back down the stairs and returned to their cabin. She was grateful to have at least seen something else other than this small room for a few minutes. She had spent ten years of her life boxed up in a house where she had been unable to leave, unable to think, and was not even allowed to be herself. Just thinking about being Kuno's wife made her feel numb. As her thoughts slowly meandered back over the last several years, she remembered that she hated him. She loathed every fiber of his being. While she deeply and dearly loved her children, the mere thought about how they came to be it made her angry with the knowledge that he had used her against her will. He had taken something most precious from her that could never be replaced, her man-hood, and also her virginity to boot.

With these thoughts, Ranko made a grim promise in herself. _'I will get you for this Kuno, just you wait. I am gonna divorce your ass, and then I am going to take that fortune of yours for mine. Afterwards, I will make bank by giving you and the ladle to Herb to do with as he fucking pleases. Yea, just you wait.'_

With worry and concern, a female Rayne noticed the byplay of anger and disgust that moved across her mother's face. As she watched, she saw her mother nod to herself as if she had reached a hard won, conclusion and was agreeing to a course of action known only to herself.

Rei sitting down setting up a chess board then pulling on her mother's hand gesturing her to play with her. "Come on mom play chess make you feel better."

Ranko looking down at her daughter, and the chessboard nodded as she sat down to play a game to ease her troubled mind.

**Half a month later.**

As the oil freighter pulled into the waterway leading into Japan's coastal harbor during the early morning hours, Ranko was happy to finally be seeing land, since she was starting to feel wary of being on the ocean for such a tediously long stretch of time.

Ranko, and her kids were finally in Japan stepping onto the docks heading toward the main streets.

Rayne, and Rei were filled with wonder as they watched the large number of people scurrying about, riding bicycles, and walking. They also noticed that there weren't as many cars in Japan as in America.

Rei looked at her mom. "Momma is this where you grew up?"

Ranko thought about her daughters words as she struggled to remember her dim past. Writing out a reply, she handed it to Rei who read these words. "I know I lived here once, but I'm not sure if I spent all my life here. I think I have been all over."

As Ranko, and her children walked down the concrete dock, that was clean, and orderly, they took in notice that there wasn't many people on the docks but them. Ranko took a minute to breath in the air, which was cleaner then the air in America. Once she took her childrens hand's gently she lead them to the main streets heading for a exchange center in order to change out her American cash, for yen in order to make the trip to Nirima via train.

As they traveled via train toward Nirima on the train Ranko had both her kid's hands making sure they would not get seperated the trains ocupant were shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see in the car they were traveling in.

_'God I hate train's too many friggen people.'_ she thought as she felt someone grab her ass causing her to fume more cause she wasn't about to let go of her children to deal with the problem.

After four hours of travel by public transportation, Ranko, and her children found themselves traveling through a familiar market in Nerima. As she was taking in both the familiar and the unfamiliar sights, Ranko accidentally bumped into someone and was knocked down to the ground. When she looked up, she was looking into the familiar eyes of the red haired woman from her dreams; the one that would tell her "Ranko, why don't you dress more properly as a woman."

Nodoka took a moment to recover her balance and composure, then looked down at the woman who had just rudely bumped into her. As she took in her frail, pale appearance along with the blue streaked red hair color, she found herself looking into a pair of extremely familiar blue eyes that stared back up at her. "R-Ranma my son, is that you?"

While looking up at the woman, Ranko felt the desire to reply well up within her, but the long day of travel combined with her drug induced illness had taken their toll. With a soft sigh, her head fell back as she dropped into unconsciousness.

Nodoka looked at the two children that were bent down next to Ranko and thought. 'Don't tell me he ran off ,and had children with some man.' After a moment of hesitation, she decided that she could figure all of that out later. Squatting down, she placed her arms under Ranko, picked her up, and then carefully examined both children. "Is she your mother?"

With a brief nod, Rayne answered her. "Yes she is."

"Follow me then, we will go to Dr. Tofu's, he is an old friend of your mothers." Nodoka kindly replied.

After arriving at Dr. Tofu's and entering the clinic, Nodoka loudly called out for the good doctor who emerged from the back to see what she wanted.

"Why Mrs. Saotome; How can I help you?" He asked and then stopped when he noticed Ranko being carried in Nodoka's arms.

"Quickly put her down in here." He said as he rapidly opened a door in to an adjacent examining room.

Nodoka, doing as she was told, carried her child into the room and settled her onto a nearby table.

Tofu studied Ranko's condition for a few minutes and then picked up his phone, and called a physician friend who worked at the local hospital. Once he was off the phone, he turned to Nodoka and quietly explained his actions. "I don't fully know what's going on, but she seems to be having drug withdrawal symptoms and may be crashing. I have called a friend of mine, and he is sending an ambulance to pick her up. She needs medical treatment I cannot provide here."

Turning his attention to Rayne he asked. "What's yours and your sister's names?"

Rayne answered his question while watching his mother with a worried expression. "My name is Rayne, and this is Rei" he choked out the last name along with the disgust he felt about his father's actions towards his mother. "Kuno."

Nodoka looked at her newly found grandson. "Is your mom married to Tatawaki-Kun?"

Rayne nodded his head. "Yea, he told me mommy would take drugs to keep herself happy. But later I found out from Mommy that she didn't feel happy, was sick, and didn't know who she was."

Nodoka gave her son turned daughter a remorseful look of sorrow. "Dr. Tofu we need to call Akane, she would be glad to know we have found Ranma at last."

As Dr. Tofu put two, and two together, he stated. "Sounds like we know the reason that Ranma never showed up for the wedding that you had both planned."

Nodoka pulled out her cell phone and made a phone call "Hey Kasumi can you have Akane get dressed, and meet us at the hospital in about a couple hours?" she requested in a trembling voice.

Kasumi got a worried expression as she listened to Nodoka's trembling voice over the phone. "Sure. Has something happened?"

Nodoka took a deep breath. "We have found Ranma, and well… I thought Akane should know."

Kasumi's eyes glistened as she heard Ranma was found. "That is good news, Akane will probably be there soon as possible."

After getting off the phone, Kasumi went in to the living room where she found Nabiki and Akane sipping on coffee while watching TV. "Akane, that was Ranma's mom, she has found him."

Akane turned her head quickly towards her sister's worried face. "Is she bringing him here?" she asked in a hopeful tone.

Kasumi shook her head. "No, get dressed we are going to the hospital. I think something dreadful has happened , though she wouldn't say. But, I am sure that something is wrong, and that you need to get there to see Ranma."

After few hours, Akane and her two sisters arrived at Tokyo General Hospital. They found Nodoka sitting in a waiting area with two small children. Sitting next to her was a boy, and next to him was a girl that could be his sister who looked to be around ten years of age.. The boy reminded her of Ranma's male form, but very young, and the girl reminded her of a much younger version of Ranma's girl half despite having purple eyes and white hair.

"Where is he? Can I see him?" Akane asked in a desperate tone.

Nodoka looked at Akane while putting an emphasis on her first word for the benefit of the children. "SHE is in the infirmary where SHE is currently undergoing treatment. We will have to wait here until she is stable."

Pacing back and forth, Akane shot worried glances toward the closed doors of the Emergency Room. For the first time in several years, she was completely sober and had not touched a single drop of alcohol. She felt no need for the demon drink because the object of her emotions was laying in a hospital bed just barely out of her reach.

Rayne kept watching the cute girl with the blue hair as she was pacing back and forth. After a bit, he looked up at his grandmother and asked. "Who is she Grammy?"

Nodoka looked back down at her grandson. "She was going to be your mothers wife until your father took your mother away." Nodoka replied with words that felt strangely foreign while referring to her son as a mother, and a she. In her heart, Ranma would always be her son, but she knew that this current form of address was currently best for Rayne, and Rei's benefit.

When they were finally allowed access to Ranko's bedside, they quietly moved inside so they wouldn't disturb her rest. In the background a series of machines monitored Ranko's vital signs. An intravenous drip had been inserted into her arm and a monitor beeped synchronously with her heart beat as her chest rose and fell in shallow gasps past the hose of an oxygen supply.

When Akane's eyes fell upon Ranko, tears welled up in them as she saw the state her former fiancé was in. _'Ranma, who did this to you….'_ Akane thought as her hands shook.

After Nabiki had listened to Nodoka, and Rayne explain the marriage of Kuno and Ranma, she spoke. "Well I will take Ranma's case. I have become a highly skilled attorney at law. By the time I am done, she will have her kids, and all of Kuno's fortune plus his properties. I know Ranma wouldn't willingly take drugs, and run off with Kuno to get married. She has always utterly hated him."

Nodoka looked at her child's children and decided that the emergency room wasn't the best place for them to wait. "I'm going to take the kids home. Akane, will you stay with her until she wakes up?"

Akane nodded and gave her a small smile. "Yea, I miss Ranma so I will be happy to stay and wait." After a pause to think, she continued. "We should probably tell Genma, and my dad to come home now that we have found her."

Nodoka shook her head no. "Not yet, I already know how my husband will react when he realizes Ranma is locked. She doesn't need that right now, so let them stay out and continue to search."

As Nodoka and the kids exited the room and shut the door, Akane sat down in a chair next to the bed while looking over Ranma's features. "I wish I could talk to you right now, but I guess I can be comfortable knowing your at least here alive, and you're going to pull through." She said out loud as she squeezed Ranko's hand. She was pleasantly surprised when she felt her own hand get a gentle squeeze in return from Ranko. Akane smiled with the knowledge that somewhere inside her head, Ranko could hear her.

**Jusenkyo **Dreamscape

Ranko found herself standing on top of a bamboo pole as her male half, which she found out was her curse, stood opposite her.

"Hello again." Ranma looked at her as he pulled out a pipe that resembled Happosai's and drew in a drag off of it. "Want some?"

Ranko frowned, shook her head, and used her hand to gesture. "No thank you."

Ranma turned away from her and looked out over the springs. "Well, don't get to comfortable Ranko. You know Kuno will try to reacquire you. I suggest getting back into shape so you can fight him off."

Ranko felt one thing that troubled her though, even more than the thought of Kuno finding her and trying to take her back. "Ranma will I ever be able to talk again?"

Ranma looked at Ranko and gave her a comforting smile. "Eventually, it's hard to say when, but since I am your curse I can see a little bit of your future. Yes, you will gain it back in time, just need to be patient which is something you lack, but you need to gain it."

Ranko hopped off the pole to lightly land on the ground with Ranma following her. "Thanks for helping me, you know, regain my memory."

Ranma smiled at her. "Well what happens to you affects me, and so I couldn't sit idly by and let you continue like that. For awhile now, I have been slowly showing you images in an attempt to get you to come out of that drugged state you were in. Also, you do know that Sasuke was helping you, so don't be too mad at him, he was just doing his job. After Kuno became too busy to keep a close eye on him, Sasuke switched your pills to sleeping pills, instead of the memory blockers." Ranma turned his head to face Ranko and took her hand. "And if Akane doesn't take you back, don't let it get to you. I'm sure she will still be a friend, and there are always other fish out there."

Ranko thought about Ranma's words as she hoped that Akane would still be with her, even knowing she was damaged goods.

"I will try to keep that in mind if that becomes the case." Ranko replied with a frown

**Hospital room**

After she woke up, she looked at her surroundings before she noticed Akane laying with her head down on the bed, asleep. Reaching over with her left hand, Ranko brushed Akane's hair away from her face. 'She looks so peaceful right now' She thought as she felt overjoyed by the first sight of her fiancé in ten years.

Akane slowly awoke to the feel of her hair being gently stroked. As she raised her head, she found herself staring into Ranko's deep, blue eyes. As she shifted, Ranko gave her a caring smile.

"Oh, Ranma. Your awake. Do you want me to call your mom?" Akane sleepily asked.

Ranko shook her head, gave Akane's hand a brief squeeze, and gestured for her to wait. Gesturing at her throat, she made a choking motion and then raised one eyebrow as if asking a question.

After a brief moment of sleep induced muzziness, Akane remembered that Rayne had told her that Ranma was unable to speak. "Would you like something to write with?" She asked with a quiet voice.

Ranko gave Akane a smile and a nod. Once Akane found a paper and a pen, she returned to Ranko and gave them to her.

Ranko jotted down a sentence that read. "I am so glad to see you again Tom-Boy, I really missed you."

Akane read the note with a tear in her eye and replied. "I really missed you too Ranma, I must have cried a million tears after you didn't show up for the wedding and.."

Ranko put a finger up to Akane's lips, and then wrote something else down on the paper that read. "Akane, don't say it please. It's okay, you didn't know. ~Ranko~"

Akane read it: Akane don't say it please. It is okay you didn't know. ~Ranko

With a puzzled expression, Akane reread the name signed below the brief note and hesitantly queried. "Your Ranko now?"

Ranko nodded and then looked as if she was thinking of something else to write. After a short pause, she jotted down a sentence, and handed it to Akane.

Akane read the note, shrugged her shoulders, and let out a sigh. "No I haven't moved on, as I said, I waited for you Ranko."

Ranko gave Akane an appreciative look, and then laid her head back to think.

Akane sat back against the chair wondering what Ranko was thinking. _'Wonder what she feels like, is she worrying I won't be with her?'_

"Ranko what has you worried?" Akane asked.

Ranko waved her hand dismissively.

Akane sighed a deep breath as she gazed out the window. _'She still hasn't changed. She still doesn't wish to share her problems with me.'_ She thought to herself and then said out loud. "Ranma when you're ready to talk or something, let me know will you?"

Ranko didn't answer as she was lost in her thoughts.

**Rayne and Rei meet their new home.**

Nodoka lead the kids into the Tendo house using the main gate the both Rei, and Rayne taking in the sight of the house which was of a construction they hadn't seen before accept in books. The house for the most part was sturdily built which they noticed a little way's down the wall there was a door that said challenge entrance on it. on the main gate a sign made of finished wood that read The Tendo Dojo.

Rayne and Rei started to head off to explore feeling excited at their new surroundings.

Nodoka shook her head. "Now hold on, don't run off just yet. You need to take your shoes off in here and leave them at the door."

Rayne and Rei looked to their grandmother but then quickly took their shoes off placing them in the cubbyholes where their grandmother indicated. "Sorry Grammy."

Nodoka sighed as she looked the two kids over. "So Rayne, and Rei how much interaction have you had with your mom?"

Rayne answered for the both of them. "Well sis spends most her time on campus at school. And as for me, I am for the most part home schooled because of my curse. Father tried to lock me, but I would run to my mom, and hide behind her; and even though she wasn't always there, she was always able to stop him. Grammy don't take this wrong, but I am happy with my curse. I grew up with it, so please don't be like Daddy."

Nodoka pondered Rayne's words. "Rayne if you like your curse, then I won't object to you keeping it, that's your decision."

_'So she instinctively protected her son while she was drugged out. While they are only ten years old, they are very smart, therefore they must learn just as fast as their mom.'_ She thought to herself

"So for the most part who took care of you the most, your father?" Nodoka continued.

Rayne shook his head. "Daddy would only hang with us when he wasn't at work. Sasuke is the one who raised us for the most part." Rayne looked toward the back yard. "Grammy can we go play now?"

Nodoka letting out a sigh nodded. "Yea go ahead I will have lunch ready in an hour, but don't leave the yard."

Rayne and Rei ran outside with a "Yay!" And a "Yahoo!"

Nodoka watched them leave as she put Ranko's pack down by the sofa. After sitting down, she laid back to think about everything that was happening.

**The Hospital**

A Hispanic man in a white lab coat with stethoscope around his neck walked in through the door. He was sporting a head of graying hair along with a whitish gray mustache and deep penetrating green eyes. He stood somewhere around five foot seven inches tall as was a thin hundred and forty pounds.

"Well, how is my patient today?" The man asked.

Ranko held her hand up and gave him a so - so gesture.

The man introduced himself with a warm smile. "I am Doctor Jaime, Ranko Kuno, and I will be your Doctor for the duration of your stay here."

Ranko grabbed a pen and paper, scribbled down something and then handed it over with a hopeful expression on her face.

Dr. Jaime read the note and then looked her in the eye. "I would like to keep you for evaluation at least until tomorrow to make sure you don't have any lingering health issues."

Ranko scribbled down another note and handed it off.

Dr. Jaime shrugged his shoulders after reading the note that Ranko had wrote. "I don't really know how to help you with that. Your vocal cords have been damaged by the drugs you have been on. I'm not saying your voice won't eventually come back, but I don't really have anything to prescribe for you other than to just let time heal you. Also, surgery isn't always a good idea since it could permanently damage your ability to speak. You are just going to have to be patient, I am sure it will come back in due time."

Ranko nodded while letting out a frustrated breath.

Turning his attention to Akane, Dr. Jaime asked. "So what relation to the patient are you miss?"

Akane thought about her answer. 'Do I tell him I used to be Ranko's fiancé?'

After deciding against that she replied with. "I am Akane Tendo, I am a friend of hers." 

Dr Jaime took some notes writing them down on his clipboard. "Does your friend here have any allergies I need to know about?"

Akane shrugged her shoulders. "Not that I know of."

After the doctor took some more notes he went about the business of checking Ranko's vitals. when he placed the stethoscope on her chest to listen to her heart and lungs, she involuntarily tensed up.

After Dr. Jaime was satisfied with Ranko's health, he said. "Well, I will come back a little later to check on you. I suggest you get some rest for now."

Akane watched the Dr leave them turned to Ranko who looked as if she was quite tense. "Ranko chill, he wasn't trying anything, how else is he supposed to check your lungs?"

With those words, Ranko relaxed a little as she laid back and closed her exhausted eyes.

**The following day noon.**

After stopping by the pharmacy to pick up some prescribed medications, Ranko and Akane made their way toward the Tendo residence. When they were walking by an ice cream parlor Ranko looked at Akane, and pointed.

When Akane looked in the direction that Ranko was pointing, she said. "Sure Ranko, we can get some ice cream if you like."

Ranko gave Akane a smile as she followed her into the parlor.

Once they found a table to sit at, Akane ordered Ranko's favorite from their childhood along with one for herself.

Soon as the waitress laid their treats on the table the two girls dug in. As Akane took a bite of her food, she watched Ranko eat hers, but she didn't eat like she used to. Instead of devouring her frozen treat, Ranko was taking tiny bites while looking deep in thought, but at the same time content.

Akane took a breath and then let it out. "You okay? Usually you would have already cleaned that bowl out, and asked for seconds."

Ranko looked at Akane, shrugged, took a breath in and then let it out.

Akane looked down at the table while trying to think of something when a note was tossed in front of her that read: "Sorry, I'm just taking my time. I can't remember the last time I had ice cream. Hell, I can't even remember having my kids."

Akane thought about this. "Is that what's bothering you, the fact you have kids and don't remember having them?"

Ranko jotted down a note and handed it to Akane which read.: "That isn't the only thing that bothers me. My curse is locked, I am a mother of two children and then to top it off, I am married to Kuno!"

Akane felt sorry for Ranko. "Well I don't know what to tell you, except to accept it, and try to move on; at least for the sake of your kids if not for yourself."

Ranko thought about Akane's words, wrote out another note and then handed it over.

Akane read: "I love my kids, they are the only good thing about this whole mess. It's just gonna take some time to get used to. I almost wish I was still in bliss and unaware of it all... I worry for us, me, and you."

Akane took a deep breath while trying to think of how to respond to that. 'Can I still love her? Can I still try to be with Ranko?' She ran many thoughts through her head before deciding not to respond until she knew exactly how she felt.

After they finished their ice cream, Akane paid the bill and both girls headed home.

**Tendo Dojo**

Rayne and Rei ran around the dojo playing with anything they could find. One of their favorite things they liked doing, was playing martial artist with the training dummy; doing kicks and punches just out of the sheer joy of being kids.

Ranko and Akane quietly arrived at the dojo and walked in. Her kids didn't notice them while they continued their playing. Every time every time they clumsily hit the dummy, caused Ranko to twitch in response. Having had enough, Ranko pushed away from Akane, headed straight over to her kids placed a hand on both of their shoulders. Once she was sure she had their attention, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then instinctively struck her palm out into the center of the dummy with enough force to instantly break it off its post.

Both Rayne, and Rei were awe struck at witnessing this display of strength and power from their mother. Ranko loosened up her mood as she looked down at them.

While watching this display, Akane knew what had set Ranko off and spoke. "Kids, I think your mom would like you to respect the dojo and put all of your concentration into your punches when you're working with the equipment."

Rayne, and Rei both just nodded in unison.

Ranko looked at Akane with a nod.

Akane took a breath and said as she exhaled. "Well, we should get inside. Your Mom would probably like to see you."

As Ranko and her kids, along with Akane, entered the house; Nodoka, and Kasumi greeted them.

Kasumi greeted Ranko. "Hello Ranma-Chan welcome home."

Ranko gave Kasumi a smile without bothering to correct her about the name she had used.

Nodoka walked over and gave her daughter a strong hug that was returned. "I am very glad that you are home hon, would you like to have some tea?"

After the hug was broken Ranko nodded feeling a little frustrated she couldn't just say yes. Wrote out a note to that effect handing it to her mother.

Ranko watched her mother leave the room to get some tea. Turning back to Akane, she wrote out a note and handed it to her.

Akane read the note then looked up. "Yea Cologne, and the others still reside at the cat-cafe. Why you ask?"

Ranko shrugged her shoulders as she took a breath, wrote out another note and then handed it over.

Akane reading what was written, she answered. "Yea I suppose she might have something to help you get your voice back."

_'Though personally I don't want Shampoo anywhere near you.'_ Akane thought. When she looked back up from the note, Ranko, and her kids were already gone.

Nodoka coming back in with the tea looking around. "Where did she go Akane?"

Akane took a breath while feeling frustrated as she thought. _'She only been home a few minutes, and she's already off like a shot.' _

Before answering, Akane took another deep breath and said. "She went to see if the Amazons had something to help her talk, I think."

**Cat-Cafe**

Upon reaching their destination Ranko paused to look at the cafe realizing it was alot more fancier then she remembered with a newly refinished mandarin style paint scheme also hosted a new edition of a large dining room window within the restraunt Ranko could make out some of the occupants which were mainly an older crowed.

After Ranko and her kids finished looking at the cafe they stepped into the door the chimes rang as Shampoo came from the back a lot older looking then from what Ranko remembered, she had a look of warn, yet still had a certain beauty to her, she was also wearing the same old waitress outfit, but looked around Ranko's age of twenty seven to thirty.

Shampoo eyed Ranko for a few minutes but did not recognize her. "Can I help you?" She asked.

Ranko just walked past Shampoo without acknowledging her presence. As she made her way to the back of the restaurant, her kids held onto her pants while she searched until she found Cologne.

Cologne looking to have aged quite a bit, as if she was on her last legs. Taking a drag from her pipe, she looked over to see Ranko standing there. "By the Gods Ranma! You finally grace us with your presence. When you want to disappear, you really do it. In a way, it was almost like you fell off the face of the earth."

Ranko liked the sound of what Cologne had just stated, but it wasn't the case. Shaking her head she pulled out a pen and paper, wrote out a note and handed it to Cologne.

Cologne read it and then looked curiously at Ranko. "Well I may have something but it will leave a bad after taste for an entire month. While it works you will feel pain and some discomfort. I will warn you now, I expect a full explanation of why you took off; starting tomorrow when you regain the slightest ability to speak."

Ranko just nodded as she watched Cologne rifle through the bookshelves until she found a potion with a purple label on it. After she double checked the label, she moved over and handed it to Ranko. "Drink that son-in-law." She ordered.

Ranko downed the bottle without even thinking twice about it. As she sat down a look of disgust crossed her features.

Cologne turned her attention to the two children still clinging to Ranko's pants. "And who might you two be?"

Rayne shrugged. "I am Rayne and this is my sister Rei, we are her kids."

Cologne looked at Ranko with a look of shock. _'Since when did Ranma feel comfortable enough being a woman to become a mother? Not too unrealistic, but at the same time very far fetched. I was sure he hated the curse.'_ Cologne thought to herself and then sighed. "Ranma, when did you decide to have children, and why do you look so pale?"

Ranko looked at Cologne, jotted a note down and then handed it over that read: "I don't wish to talk about it in front of my children."

"Very well Ranma, I want you to visit me tomorrow, just as soon as you can talk. Got it?" Cologne instructed.

Ranko just gave Cologne a nod before standing up. When she started to leave, Shampoo stepped out in front of her.

Shampoo looked at Ranko. "Why Airen no see Shampoo?"

Ranko didn't look her in the eye and started to walk past shampoo as she was blocked again.

Shampoo fumed. "You no leave til you answer!"

Rayne growled. "Leave Momma alone, she doesn't wish to talk right now!"

Shampoo looked down at the angry boy in shock when she heard him refer to Ranko as his Mother.

Shampoo looked up at Ranko's face with anger burning in her eyes. "Why you have children with other man!"

After hearing enough, Ranko brought her hands up and pushed Shampoo to the side as she walked past.

Shampoo stood there scowling in the direction Ranko and her kids had left the cafe in.

* * *

**Notes: This chapter went the way I wanted it, but I feel its a little too fast so next chapter I will attempt to slow its pace down adding more life to the story such as what Ranma and her kids are up to interacting with the world.**

**Next chapter may take longer to be released since I still am creating it.**

**Also like to note this story is based after the fact of Ranma's mom finding out about the curse, the only thing different is the failed wedding, where Ranma doesn't show up instead.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fan Humor:  
**

The lady of Sakura Mountain Ranko-Chan walked along the familiar streets of Nirima when, Ranma-Kun from When it Rains It Pours that had a red wristband walked up to her.

They both pointed to each other one forming a frost blade the other forming a chi blade. "Impostor!" they both cried in unison.

Then another Ranko walked up who looked pale, a little on the frail side, and a little older. "Hey this is my story go back to your own stories damn it!"

* * *

**Note's: This Chapter is where Ranko is able to speak, and one other thing she is good at.**

* * *

**Coma White Chapter:3**

**Old Rivals**

Ranko took her kid's hands, as she walked she didn't like how dark it was getting. She constantly scanned the area like a cat scanning for its prey.

While carefully watching the nervous girl, Mouse in wonderment asked himself _'Is that Ranma?'_

Ranko felt that something was wrong as she was scanning the streets, and even the alleyways. _'Why do I feel like I am being watched.'_ she thought with a fearful expression on her face.

Mousse moved quickly to hide behind a nearby air conditioner as Ranko turned her head directly toward him and stopped dead in her tracks as she could swear something, or someone had just moved nearby.

Ranko scanned the area that had an old air conditioner with anxiety building, once she determined that there was nothing there she started to rapidly walk away.

Mouse breathed a sigh of relief as he crept out and followed Ranko with an expression of glee. _'That is Ranma__. N__ow __I __just gotta get revenge. Just __you__ wait Saotome__, you will wish you had never reappeared.'_

As Ranko and her kids walked toward home, Ranko turned her head slightly and saw a familiar person following her. Her danger sense went on overdrive. _'Friend or Foe?'_ she trepidatiously asked herself.

Bending down a little she got her kid's attention then with her right hand she pointed at an alcove she wanted them to hide in.

Rayne and Rei broke off from their mother reluctantly and went to stand in the alcove and wait nervously.

Ranko stopped and turned slightly, when she did Mousse hid behind a pole.

As Mousse was trying to get his heart back under control from when he almost was caught, he peered out from behind the pole and found that he was face to face with none other than Ranko who fixed him with a glare.

Ranko glared at Mousse. _'Who the fuck is he?' _she pondered as he seemed familiar, but yet she couldn't put a name to him yet.

Rapidly running several possible scenarios through his head, Mouse settled on an old standby from way back.

"Ranma prepare to die!" ~He bellowed as he charged Ranko trying to catch her off guard with a training potty that indeed hit home knocking Ranko back onto the ground.

_'Whoa this is just plain weird. Whoever this guy is, he knows me, and is being stupid' _Ranko slowly got back to her feet and pondered.

As Mousse charged Ranko again, this time with some chains, he was surprised when she clumsily dodged the attack while striking him in the face and knocking him to the ground.

Ranko kept an eye on Mousse, took a breath and then let it out while thinking. _'Okay girl that hit didn't do much, gotta get more precise.'_

As Mouse moved in to hit Ranko again this time with a hidden ax weapon, Ranko jumped up, and kicked a flower pot into his stomach and knocked him backwards, while she herself fell backwards catching herself as she barely recovered before she landed flat on her back.

Mousse watching Ranko's clumsy display. "What are you trying to do" Saotome, make a mockery out of me? Fight me for real, as a man!" He shouted as he threw a hot water grenade at Ranko's feet where it went off with an explosive splash and drenched her from head to toe.

Ranko eyed this display while shaking the water off. _'Wish it would have worked, I could use the extra strength about now.'_

Rayne and Rei were surprised when they realized that a man wearing an old yellow outfit and carrying a red, bamboo umbrellas was standing behind them and also watching the fight.

When he looked down at the children, he was surprised at how much they were reminding him of an old friend and rival.

_'Who is Mousse fighting?' _Ryoga thought as he watched a blue and red haired girl fighting with Mousse. She looked clumsy, but occasionally found the precision to catch Mousse here and there. _'Definitely a martial artist but seriously out of practice.'_ Ryoga thought and then turned his attention back to the two kids. "That your mom?"

Rayne thought about this as he watched the fight between his mom and a weird dude with glasses. Deciding he could probably trust the man he spoke. "Yea she's our mom , and this man attacked her out of the blue can you help her?" Rayne asked politely.

Ryoga thought about this and then asked. "What's her name?"

Rayne knowing better then to give last names just settled for the first name. "Ranko."

Ryoga studied the girl while trying to think. "R-Ranko, Ranma?" After a brief inner fight with his own instincts that demanded his own attack on the woman he knew as Ranma, he remembered the young boy's sincere request, dropped his pack, and quickly moved in.

Time and fatigue were quickly taking their toll, as she stubbornly and desperately fought a battle that she had lost before it began. As she struggled to keep her feet under a barrage of attacks that she was barely evading or blocking as much by chance as by skill, Ranko found herself backed into a corner that she wasn't sure she would be able to escape from. Just as she had resigned herself to her inevitable defeat, much to her surprise a red umbrella came whistling in out of nowhere and knocked Mousse out.

As Ryoga made sure Mousse was done with, he put a hand on the wall, leaned in towards Ranko and looked her in the eye. "So you run off on our duel, then you run off on Akane, have two kids, and worst yet of all, you let your training go lax. What in the name of the seven hells is wrong with you?"

Ranko tried to speak but nothing came out. Feeling frightened by this unfamiliar, yet familiar guy, that was right up on top of her and was forcing her back against the wall._ 'Whoever he is, he's strong. He took that guy out with just one move.'_

Rei and Rayne ran over to their mom and hugged her. Rayne looking up at the man. "Please don't hurt her."

Ryoga looked down at the boy and then back up at Ranko. "Don't plan on it. I just want an answer."

Rei then spoke looking up to him. "She can't talk, she's mute until the potion she drank kicks in."

Ryoga thought about this. "Is that true Ranma?"

Ranko gave him a timid nod before letting out a breath of relief upon hearing he wasn't going to hurt her.

Ryoga thought about this for a minute. "Well I guess we should go to the Dojo, and then you can explain to me what is up with you."

Ranko gave him a nod, pulled out a note pad, wrote something down something and handed it over to him.

Ryoga read the note with a look of disbelief. "You don't remember my name? I am Ryoga, you idiot!"

Ranko cringed when he yelled at her. _'Jeez how was I supposed to know, he didn't have to yell at me..'_ she thought while carefully writing out a note before handing it to him.

Ryoga read the next note, let out a sigh and shook his head. "You really don't remember who I am?"

Ranko gave him a nod with a sad look, and then scribbled out another note before handing it over.

Ryoga read the next one. "So you will be able to talk tomorrow huh?"

Ranko nodded while sighing a breath of frustration.

Ryoga shrugged. "Alright, let's get you and the kids home. We will talk tomorrow about this. Also, where are you sleeping now? Cause I live in the guest room these days."

Ranko shrugged her shoulders before writing out another note and handing it off.

Ryoga chuckled at Ranko. "Only been back in Nirima for a couple days and already your getting in trouble."

_'Ranma has definitely changed, usually he/she would be bitching me out for interfering in that fight. But why does it seem like she's timid?'_ Ryoga shook himself from these thoughts as they walked to the Tendo home.

After about thirty five minutes they arrived at the Tendo's. Upon their arrival, Akane promptly walked up to Ranko and gave her a stern look. "Ranko, you can't just be running off like that. You had me worried sick, and it is past time for you to take your medicine."

Ranko gave Akane an apologetic look as she took the pills that Akane was holding out for her and popped them in her mouth and then took a drink of the water that Akane was holding.

Akane turned her attention to Ryoga. "She hasn't been a burden to you has she?"

Ryoga shrugged while scratching the back of his neck nervously. "NO, not really, she just got in over her head in a fight. She's seriously out of practice."

An already frustrated Ranko pointedly ignored Ryoga. She knew that she was better than that. Reaching out, She patted her kids on their backs to let them know to go to bed.

Rayne and Rei whined in unison. "But momma!"

Ranko gave them a stern look, but then softened her features as she realized that they didn't have a room to sleep in.

_'Heh where do we sleep?' _Ranko turned to look at Akane and then wrote out a note.

Akane took the note and read it. "You three will be staying in my room, with me."

Ranko eyed her and then scribbled out another note and then handed it over.

Akane read it with a scowl. "Honestly Ranko, just deal with it. I don't care if you were a boy, that doesn't matter to me. Just go up stairs and get ready for bed, I will be up shortly."

Ranko shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh as she led her kids upstairs as since she could remember where the room was.

Ryoga watched Ranko and her kids disappear upstairs. "Since when does he have kids?"

Akane shrugged and sat down Ryoga with following her. "Since Kuno kidnapped her and forced her to be his wife for ten years. The entire time I have been drinking myself silly while thinking Ranma ran away from me, he had been kept drugged up and was being used by Kuno."

These words made Ryoga furious._ 'That sick son of a bitch, who the fuck could do that to another martial artist, let alone a man, or even a woman.'_

"That just makes my blood boil Akane. Where is he?" Ryoga said with barely repressed rage.

Akane sighed. "Don't worry about it. Ranko is gonna get her divorce, and then get a hold of the authorities. Then with Nabiki's help, we are gonna bail him out cause Ranko has a special revenge in store for him in the form of Herb."

Ryoga nodded on that. "So what happens to your relationship with her?"

Akane thought about this for a few minutes. "I'm not sure. I think I will try again. It's just going to be different since she can no longer change back."

Ryoga turned to Akane. "Wait, his curse is locked?"

Akane just gave Ryoga a sad nod before getting up to go to bed. "Yea, it is. I am gonna get to bed and I still need to get Ranko and her kids situated. See you tomorrow."

Ryoga watched Akane go up stairs before sitting down on the couch to think about this whole situation.

**Upstairs**

Akane walked into the room and saw that the kids were already laying asleep in a futon, Ranko sat in a chair where she was trying to sleep.

_'Silly Baka.' _Akane fondly thought to herself.

After Akane had changed into her Pj's, she walked over to the closet, opened it and walking to the back where all of Ranma's stuff was stored. After finding a pair of yellow shorts and a white t-top she grabbed them, walked and tossed them into Ranko's lap. "Get changed baka, you're sleeping with me tonight."

Ranko opened her eyes and saw the items that had been thrown on her lap. After changing into them she felt familiarity with them. After changing into them, she found that they felt very familiar.

After Akane was satisfied, she shut the light off, grabbed Ranko's hand, and led her to the bed. "Pick a side and lay down."

Ranko climbed into the bed and scooted over by the wall. After Akane had followed suit, she laid down and roughly pulled Ranko back against her. "I won't bite, your my fiance, remember?"

Ranko let out a sigh as Akane put her arms around her and pulled her tightly against her chest._ 'Jeez she's a little rough.'_ Ranko thought even as she enjoyed the embrace at the same time.

**Down stairs later that night.**

Ryoga sat at the dining room table drinking some milk thinking about the turn of events when a female Rayne sat down at the table with him.

Ryoga eyed the girl for a sec. "Um..you want some milk?"

Rayne gave him a nod. "Yes please, I can't sleep sis kinda knocked a glass of water down on me."

Ryoga chuckled. "Well let me rephrase that do you want some milk, and hot water?"

Rayne smiled while taking a breath. "Just the milk please. I'd rather not bother changing right now. Besides, it helps me think."

Ryoga got up from his seat, grabbed a glass from the cupboard, and then walked to the fridge. Grabbing the milk, he poured some into the glass and handed it to Rayne before he placed the milk back into the fridge. Once he had finished, he sat back down at the table.

Rayne picked up her glass of milk took a drink and looked deep in thought as she swallowed some. "Are you an old friend of Momma's?"

Ryoga thought about this for a second before running different thoughts through his head and settling on the best choice. After taking a slight breath, he spoke. "I guess you could say that, but at the same time I am also her rival."

Rayne pondered his answer while remembering the fight her mother had with the weird dude and glasses. "Is momma a good martial artist?"

Ryoga chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders a little. "She's the best when she's in shape, and in practice. Don't let that fight you saw fool you. I will have her whipped into shape in no time."

_'Though it may take some doing, she's pretty timid from what I could tell. No Confidence at all.'_ Ryoga thought to himself.

Rayne listened to Ryoga's words and felt a little better. _'Cool, so Sasuke wasn't lying to me after all.'_ She thought before asking. "Think you could teach me some martial arts?"

Ryoga shook his head "No, that wouldn't be what your mom would want. She's gonna wanna teach you herself, and I don't think your built for my style."

Rayne took a breath and shrugged her shoulders. "If I ask momma, and she says it's okay will you teach me?"

Ryoga laughed comically. After he had regained his composure, he replied. "Yea sure kiddo." _'Like that will ever happen. Ranma let me teach her kid how to fight? Not in a million years.'_ Ryoga thought while letting out a sigh.

After Rayne had finished her glass of milk, she put it on the kitchen counter and headed up for bed.

Ryoga eyed the glass and chuckled to himself before he rinsed it out and put it in the sink._ 'Definitely Ranma's son, ready to learn anything and everything.'_

**The following morning**

Ranko sat up in bed, stretched and let out a yawn as she paused for a second. "I can talk." Ranko whispered in a scratchy sounding voice. "I can talk!" she said a little louder with a joyful voice.

The sound of which woke Akane up.

"Ranko stop making so much racket I am trying to... hey you can talk." Akane stated as she sat up in bed.

"Yea I can, but it hurts a little." Ranko stated in a light tone so not to hurt her so much. Ranko lightly replied so it wouldn't hurt.

Akane took a deep breath and then let it out as she put her arms around Ranko. "I am so happy for you."

Akane gave some thought to her next words. "Ranko, I was wondering if you know if you would like to be my fiancé again, after you get out of that marriage you're in?"

Ranko turned her head away from Akane so she couldn't see the tears that dropped from her eyes at her words and sadly replied. "You couldn't possibly wanna be with damaged goods like me. What about a family?"

Akane shrugged. "Ranma/Ranko I don't really care if you're a girl, I already said that a long time ago, and I will stand by it now. Besides, who needs to worry about kids when we already would have two adorable ones. So please, would you like to be my fiancé again?"

Ranko thought about this for a few minutes before turning around to meet Akane's eyes. After taking a breath while feeling her heart flutter. "S-Sur-Sure Akane I would like that very much." Ranko stuttered.

Ranko pondered a second before asking. "Akane how would we get married?"

"We go to Holland of course." Akane said as she moved In, and kissed Ranko on the cheek.

**Down stairs Tendo breakfast**

Nodoka, and Kasumi set the table with the help of Kasumi's husband Tofu.

Kasumi smiled at the thought of getting to cook for Ranko again, she missed his/her appetite. 'He /she always had a love for the food that I prepared and appreciated it.' Kasumi mused to herself.

After about twenty minutes, the table was set and the food was laid out on it. Just as Kasumi started to go upstairs to get Ranko, Akane and the kids to come down, they were blessed with the sight of all four making their way down along with a zombie like Nabiki following close behind. Kasumi smiled as she instinctively handed Nabiki a cup of coffee.

Nabiki took the cup took a drink then said in a murmured voice. "Thanks Kasumi."

As the family sat around the table and prepared to pray, Rayne and Rei started to pick up their chopsticks to eat when Ranko smacked the table.

"No, not til after the prayer." Ranko stated in a stern tone.

Rayne looked to his mom. "But momma we always..."

Ranko sighed and then cut her son off. "Hon, that isn't how it is done over here, so please lets have some respect."

Everyone except Akane stared at Ranko, even Rayne turned his head when he realized that he had just had a brief conversation with his mom.

Once everyone got over this shock, they said their prayer "Iti takimash." (Thank you for the meal.) Then everyone started eating.

Ranko picked up her chopsticks and broke them apart and then took a bite of her food while savoring the taste of Kasumi's cooking that she had missed.

Nodoka took a bite of her food and watched Ranko with fascination because she was actually eating at normal human speeds. But what was even more interesting, was the fact that Ranko was teaching her son manners.

"Ranko how are you feeling this morning?" Nodoka queried.

Ranko swallowed the food that she was just savoring and answered in a light voice. "I am fine just a little moody, sorry about that display. I just wanna teach them manners is all."

Nodoka gave her daughter a smile. "Well, that's what a mom is for, to teach her kids right from wrong."

Rei took a bite of her food and after she had swallowed it, she asked. "Grammy what is this?"

Nodoka gave Rei a smile gesturing to the food. "That is tamagoyaki (rolled omelet) , with seasoned nori (dried seaweed).

Ryoga looked at Ranko as he prepared to eat some more of his food. "Ranma want to spar after breakfast?"

"Ryoga her name is.." Nodoka started to say when Ranko laid a hand on hers.

Ranko took a breath then said. "It's okay momma, he can call me Ranma. I don't mind it one bit." Turning her attention back to Ryoga, she replied. "Yes I would be happy to, I need to get back into shape, I do not like being frail."

Kasumi took a drink of her tea and looked at her husband. "So hon, what are you doing today?"

"Well, I have a speech I have to give for the new doctors of Tokyo General." Tofu stated while cleaning some smudges off his glasses before replacing them.

Kasumi thought about this and then asked. "What about?"

Tofu took a bite of his food and then stated, "It's about Chrono bionisis theory"

Kasumi pondered on her husband's words. "Sounds fascinating."

Ranko finished her plate and started thinking._ 'Hmm I need to get Rei back in school but how?' _

"Mom can we talk after breakfast before me, and Ryoga spar?" Ranko politely asked.

While picking up her glass of tea, Nodoka looked over at Ranko. "Sure Honey. What about?"

"I will tell you after breakfast." Ranko said, and felt a little embarrassed about not knowing about such simple things.

"Fair enough dear" Nodoka stated as she sat her tea glass down, and then turned her attention to the last bits of food on her plate.

Akane then spoke as she looked over to Nodoka. "I would like to talk to you after that if you don't mind Auntie."

Nodoka shrugged her shoulders. "Akane, call me Mom, alright?"

"Alright Mom." Akane said cheerfully.

Nabiki piped up after taking a drink of her coffee. "Ranma or Ranko, or whatever your calling yourself these days, we need to get your legal paper work going soon for your divorce. So I suggest that you get the ball rolling soon."

Ranko pondered. "Can't we like do that later tonight?" she said in slight annoyance.

Nabiki shook her head and made eye contact with Ranko. "No. I have a flight to Chicago tonight, and I won't be back for two days. So if you want to do this paper work, it needs to occur by noon. Otherwise, you will have to wait until I get back."

Ryoga took a drink and then looked at Ranko. "Ranma, just talk to your mom, and then deal with your paperwork. We can spar afterward. I won't be going anywhere, I got over my direction problems."

Ranko looked at Ryoga questioningly "You actually had a direction problem?"

Ryoga shrugged his shoulders. "You know what, let's forget I said anything on that subject."

Rayne and Rei sat talking quietly amongst themselves while the adults held their own conversations.

"Sis Mom's voice sounds nice." Rayne stated with a smile.

Rei nodded her head in agreement "Well, now we know when you're in female form where we get our voices."

After breakfast was over Ranko and her mom went up stairs to talk.

After Nodoka closed the door to Akane's room, she said. "Alright dear, what did you wish to ask?"

Ranko thought hard about this. "Mom, I need to get Rei back in school. But with all the crap going on with, well you know, I just don't know if I should or not. I don't want him to get her."

Nodoka shrugged. "Just have her catch up in during summer classes, there is no need to burden yourself with worry. Get your marriage dealt with first and then go from there." Nodoka paused while she thought about Rayne and then continued. "Also, you might want to consider starting Rayne in public schools next year. He could use the interaction."

Ranko took a breath before exhaling. "Well, Rayne said he was home schooled and Rei was in a private school. I am not very sure whether or not I should change things up too much."

Nodoka gave Ranko a hug and sighed. "Do what you feel is right, all I did was make a suggestion."

**Four hours later**

As Ranko stepped into the dojo with her kids following her, she grumbled about all the damn paperwork she had just done.

Ranko turned to her children and asked. "Alright kids, do you know how to meditate?"

Rayne and Rei smiled. "Yes we learned it from.."

Ranko finished the sentence. "Your father, alright.. I would like you to start with that for an hour while me, and Ryoga spar."

After Ranko made sure her kids were out of the way while meditating, she found a spot to prepare for the fight with Ryoga she instinctively began to stretch and loosen herself up.

Ryoga after watching for a minute or two he noticed a flaw in her current form. Walking in front of her, he quickly caught one of her kicks before she could pull it back and held her leg up so she wouldn't fall over.

"Ranma, your kick is all wrong. Lift your leg up to this elevation and concentrate on your precision." Ryoga stated before letting go and stepping back."

Ranko tried again, and this time succeeded in kicking correctly, just the way Ryoga remembered her doing in the past.

Ryoga watched Ranko do her Kata as he took a breath in and then let it out. "That is perfect, a little feminine, but it works."

_'Come to think of it, she always kicked femininely as a girl. I guess it's just natural.' _Ryoga thought to himself.

**After a 30 minutes of this they began their spar session.**

Ryoga blocked one punch then dodged the second as he moved in to grab Ranko's arm and throw her to the ground before getting ready for the next round.

Ranko slowly got up with a determined look in her eye, and a twitch as if something was triggering a reaction within her.

Ryoga watched Ranko twitch some and contemplated. _'I wonder if I go all out, will she come back full force? That twitch I am seeing shows that somewhere inside Ranma's skill wants to come out.'_

Ryoga walked over to his bag, pulled out two water bottles, and casually tossed one to Ranko. "Drink that, you're going to need it here in a few minutes."

Ranko felt frustrated as she opened the bottle while taking a drink. _'I have to do better than this if Kuno comes to find me.'_ Ranko thought as she closed her eyes while concentrating.

Once Ryoga had finished his drink, he sat the empty bottle down on the bench. As he go ready to spar he noticed Ranko had her eyes closed. "You okay Ranma?"

Ranko opened her eyes and then said out loud without realizing it. "Sorry, kinda was having a meeting with my curse."

Ryoga shrugged while scratching the back of his neck. "Yea, it is natural to talk to your curse once I... Wait you can talk to your curse?"

Ranko nodded, took a breath then let it out while scratching the back of her neck nervously in an instinctive manner. "Yea, that is how I made it this far. My curse has been helping me pull off the drugs that Kuno was giving me."

Ryoga pondered this for a second. "Well I hope that meeting was about getting your skills back, cause I am not going to hold back. It's do or die time, right now."

Ranko got a familiar smirk on her face that Ryoga hated while going into a nonchalant stance.

Ryoga observed the stance and sighed._ 'So she might be up to the task after all. That's the Saotome anything goes style, stand nonchalantly, and wait for your opponent to strike cause he will never know your next move.'_

Ranko watched Ryoga with a gleam in her eye while remembering something her curse had just told her, and then stated with a taunting tone. "Come on P-p-p-Chan, the lil piggy who goes oink, oink."

Her smirk quickly spread into a full grin when she the effect of her taunt on Ryoga.

Ryoga's eyes started to turn red as his temper flared.

"How dare you mock me Ranma, prepare to die!" Ryoga shouted as he charged forward and threw a flurry of kicks and punches that Ranko nimbly ducked, and dodged.

With a quick drop towards the floor, Ranko spun into a sweep and kicked out at Ryoga's legs with enough force to knock him off his feet. While he was still in the air, she sprang back up to her feet, jumped into the air and was coming back down with a fully extended punch just as Ryoga barely rolled out of the way so that her fist loudly thudded into the floor instead of his face. With a quick flip of his legs, Ryoga monkey flipped back into a defensive stance and took a brief moment to evaluate the situation.

Ryoga chided himself. _'Come on Ryoga, you can do better than that. Of course her curse will have her taunt you, it's only natural, so stop letting your temper get to the better of you.' _

This time, Ryoga charged forward while faking a left punch that Ranko dodged to the right. Ryoga quickly punched at Ranko with his right, when Ranko surprisingly grabbed his arm, swiftly brought her right leg up to kick him in the face and then jumped back into a crane stance.

Ryoga stood there rubbing his cheek and thought to himself._'I didn't see that one coming, I think she's __back.' _"Ranma do a Kata now, please."

Ranko performed a Kata for Ryoga thereby confirming Ryoga's thoughts.

Ryoga carefully thought about the use of his words and then spoke. "Okay Ranma, I think that is enough for the day. You need to meditate for a bit. Your skills are there, but your mostly running on instinct. You need to get them to work for you, not without you."

Ranko chuckled to Ryoga in a familiar manner. "No, I don't need to meditate, I am back. Seriously, if you don't believe me, I will show you." Ranko said as she raised her right hand up, formed a ki ball and then tossed it from one hand to the other.

Ryoga laughed and then took a breath. "So, is your curse like some kind of personal trainer now?"

Ranko shrugged. "When you have my male form as your curse's embodiment, it kinda makes you learn fast. He's a tyrant I tell you."

"And your telling me that that is different from the way you used to be, ever? Guess you're finally seeing what you're like from a third party perspective." Ryoga stated while giving Ranko a friendly smirk.

Both Ranko and Ryoga turned towards a knock on the wood. Seeing Akane standing there while sliding the door closed and locking it. "I suggest you stay here Ranko. Your dad and mine are home, and your mom isn't back yet, and to top it off, they are both drunk."

Ranko nodded while taking a seat on the bench and wiping the sweat off her face with a towel. "Akane, good news I can fight again."

Akane smiled while taking a seat next to Ranko. "That is good to hear. But you might wanna go jogging, and stuff with me for awhile. You're still a little on the frail side."

* * *

**Notes: As you will have notice I actually took the time to look up a Japanese prayer, and its translation. Thought it would make the meal a little more realistic.**

**On other subjects Ranko has now gained the ability to fight,and speak, but she still has a little ways to go as in getting back in fit condition that is covered next chapter along with what Ranma's dad. What is he going to do when he finds out Ranma is locked. Will he disown Ranma or will he just sulk over the loss of his manly son.?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fan Humor:**

Ranma stepping out of the lake after skinny dipping and searched for her clothes._ 'That's strange I could have sworn I put them right here...'_

Mean while several members of the Hentai Horde had video recorders, and camera's out taking pictures. One of them turned to the man who had made it possible. "Good job Gosenkugi, I knew we could count on you."

* * *

**Note: Here is Chapter 4 of Coma White enjoy.**

* * *

**Coma White Chapter:4**

**Dojo Waiting Game**

Akane smiled and then kissed Ranko on the cheek. "Well lets spar, and see if your back."

Ranko looked at Akane and nodded her head as she stood up. "Alright, but this will be child's play."

Akane giggled at Ranko's words _'Still arrogant, but she's got a surprise coming.'_

Assuming a fighting stance Akane stood ready. "Whenever you're ready cream puff."

Ranko assumed her own fighting stance while frowning at Akane's words. "Whatever Tomboy"

After waiting for Akane, Ranko finally charged forward and threw a clumsy right chop that Akane avoided by grabbing her arm and throwing her to the ground.

"You sure you have your skills under control?" Akane asked as she loosened herself up while waiting for Ranko to get back up.

Ranko growled as she picked herself up from the floor and resumed her fighting stance. _'I thought I had it..'_ Ranko thought as she closed her eyes to concentrate.

**Subconscious meeting**

Ranko found Ranma standing by a fountain while attending to some flowers by pouring water on them.

Ranma turned to her and smiled. "So the Tomboy beating you up?"

Ranko shrugged "I thought I had it.. I don't know why I couldn't hit her."

"Well your problem is your out of practice, you're not going to get over it over night." Ranma said as he handed Ranko some seeds. "Here throw those over there won't you."

Ranko sighed, took the seeds and then tossed them out onto the garden. "Why the love for plants?"

Ranma laughed while reaching over and ruffling Ranko's hair. "Why are you so arrogant?"

Ranko looked away from Ranma while trying to think about his words. "I don't wanna be weak."

""You're going to be that way for a bit. Your friend Ryoga is right, your skills are working purely on instinct, not with you." Ranma stated to Ranko while giving her a shrug.

Ranko sighed while shaking her head and feeling frustrated. "I don't get it why is it I can't just...Wait that's it. You are so clever gardening, for you it is a balance that makes you one with nature. So what I need to do is find my balance and then my skills will come back in due time."

Ranma smiled while he patted Ranko on the back. "You are definitely getting smarter. By the way, I suggest you duck"

**Back to Akane and the dojo.**

"Huh duck?" Ranko murmured, as Akane moved in with a right chop that caught her in the face and knocked her over backwards.

Akane looked down at Ranko who's red and blue hair was now a mess and asked. "Ranko, weren't you paying attention?"

Ranko slowly stood back up while rubbing her cheek. "No . Sorry, I was kinda thinking is all. Yea, Ryoga is right I don't have it yet."

Rayne looked at his mom and asked with a slight whine. "Can we stop meditating now?"

Ranko gave her son a smile. "Sure hon, let's try some simple techniques together, shall we?"

Rayne, and Rei both stood up from their spots and walked over to their mother where they assumed the same stance that she was taking.

Akane also assumed a stance, similar in nature to the one Ryoga had taken.

All five started practicing while stepping forward and throwing simple punches into the air. Every so often they would alternate with kicks.

Ranko threw a left punch, then a right punch and a kick. "Left punch, now right punch, step, and then kick."

Rayne and Rei repeated their mother's words, and followed her instructions while Ryoga and Akane followed suit.

Ranko looked to Akane and Ryoga. "You guy's don't need the practice, so why are you doing this?"

Ryoga chuckled and shrugged. "I don't know, I am bored, so I figured we could practice the basic's together."

Akane smiled at Ranko gesturing with her hand some. "Same with me, I miss practicing with you."

Their practice was interrupted when they heard the door start to slide open. With a sudden shot of adrenaline brought on by the fear of a visit by Kuno or his retainers, Akane grabbed Ranko and attempted to hide her behind Ryoga. As they anxiously watched, two figures drunkenly staggered into the dojo, neither of which Ranko recognized or remembered.

One of them was Soun Tendo, owner of the dojo and Akane's father. He was dressed in a wrinkled brown gi, had long black hair and a mustache who was starting to show his age through the gray strands that had started to streak his hair, almost as if he had added colored highlights. He was tall, thin and wiry for his age and he moved with an exaggerated sense of self importance.

The second figure was fairly large, some might say fat but they would be wrong, this man had the type of strength that made him round and stout. While age had added a layer of fat over the muscle, it would be a mistake to underestimate his hidden power. He was wearing a gi that was lightly stained by food and drink, as if he no longer had a reason to worry about his personal appearance, that he kept closed with a wide black cloth belt. On his head was a patterned bandana that hid his bare scalp. As his eyes tried to focus on the five of them, his large round glasses gave a flash of reflected light that seemed to say in an eerie manner, 'I see you.'

Cocking his head to one side, he tipped his head back and took a long pull from the sake bottle in his left hand. When he allowed the bottle to drop and dangle loosely back by his side, he started a rolling walk towards Ranko that made him look like he had ridden a horse with a bad fitting saddle one too many miles. Stepping up to the red, and blue haired girl with the large bosom, he draped his right arm around her shoulders and gave her a drunken look from the bottom of her feet on up until his eyes came to rest on her healthy looking chest.

"Well now, don't you look cute. Do ya wanna come home with me darlin' and have a drink?" he said with a slurred, deep voice as he raised the bottle of sake up in front of her face.

Ranko froze in disbelief. She couldn't handle this type of attention so soon after escaping Tatewaki. Not to mention, he was much older than her and his breath smelled vile from the alcohol he had been consuming. The lingering smell of stale cigarettes that permeated his outer wear made her want to choke as if she was suffocating. Slowly turning to look him in the eyes, she saw the fine lines and wrinkles that were forming on his face and panicked.

"EWWWWW! Who is this old geezer? Why is he hanging all over me! YUCK! Get him off, GET HIM OFF!" She shrieked, and then struck out with a heel palm strike that rose up and slammed into Genma's chin and blew him backward with the force of Ranko's fear driven attack.

As Genma flew through the air, he automatically tried to right himself in his flight so he would land on his feet, much like a cat, but his night of imbibing had taken its toll on his normal reflexes. With a loud thump he landed hard on his back with enough force to drive the air out of his lungs and quickly succumbed to unconsciousness, while Ranko stood still in one position with her extended right arm shaking in the air as if it was the limber limb of a tree on breezy morning.

With measured calm, Soun swayed in place as he looked down at his good friend who was laid out on the floor as if awaiting burial, turned his head towards the shaken woman, took a combat stance and then queried in a slow deliberate voice. "Excuse me, but who might you be?"

Moving slowly in an exaggerated manner that spoke loudly of shaken measured caution, Ranko lowered her arm, took a counter stance and stared out through her bangs at Soun with a sinister look that seemed to say, 'don't touch me.' With a quiet feeble voice Ranko replied in a scared manner. "Umm, I.. I'm… Um…"

With a quick step in-between Ranko and her father, Akane calmly answered for her friend."Dad, this is Ranma, do you remember?"

Soun relaxed his stance, stood up straight, brought his right hand up to his chin and then stroked it with his thumb and index finger while cradling his right elbow with his left arm as if in deep thought. "I see, so Ranma has come home."

With those words, Soun sat down next to Genma on the floor and started patting him on the stomach."Do you hear that Saotome? Your son has come home. Yep, Ranma is finally home." As he finished saying that, his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell back to lay next to his friend as he also slipped away into a drunken, unconscious, stupor of his own.

With hesitation, Ryoga slowly pulled a rigid, unresponsive Ranko into a caring embrace, and held her. "It's all right Ranko, he's out cold. You don't have to worry about his stupidity anymore. Why don't you head on into the house and try to calm down. Okay?" He finished as he released her and held her out at arm's length by both of her shoulders.

With a methodical nod of her head, Ranko shakily gestured at her children to follow her as they turned and started out of the dojo towards the house.

**Living room discussion the next day.**

Ranko sat on the couch with her kids while watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating cereal when Soun, and Genma came down stairs to start playing shogi.

Genma was rubbing a large, livid bruise on his cheek. "Damn Tendo, who hit me last night?"

Soun shrugged and looked over at the three girls on the couch. "Your son did. You decided to hit on him like some drunken sailor, Saotome."

Genma frowned while looking at Soun. "Tendo, this is no time for jokes."

Soun sighed to himself "It is no joke Saotome. Ranma is sitting on the couch over there. Look for yourself."

Genma walked around and looked at the three girls on the couch. First he looked at the very young white haired girl, and then at the two red and blue haired girls. _'Well, they all have similarities to my son's girl form, except the girl in the middle looks much older while the other two are still rather young..'_

Rayne whined while looking up at Genma. "Can you move out of the way old man, your blocking the TV?"

Rei gave Genma a glare.

Ranko also looked at the old man with a glare of her own. _'I swear, there's that dirty old man again'_ She thought to herself.

"What, do ya round two? I do not wanna date you." Ranko angrily said out loud.

Akane stepped over from the hall, and placed a hand on Ranko's shoulder. "Ranma, this is your father, Genma Saotome."

Genma looked at Ranko, reached out while grabbing her by the shoulders and picking her up. "Son is that really you?"

Ranko growled. "Put me down old man, or I'm gonna clock you."

Genma pulled Ranko into a bear hug. "My son your home, your finally home!" Genma shouted with joy before finally setting Ranko back down. While holding her away from him with fully extended arms so he could look at her, he continued with a scowl. "Ranma my boy, why are you still a girl? Go get some hot water this instant."

Ranko pushed away from her father and sat down next to her kids while looking frustrated with a frustrated look. "I don't change anymore pops sorry."

Genma eyed Ranko "What do you mean Ranma?"

Rayne eyed the old man. _'If this is my grandpa, he isn't that great.' _

"Momma's curse is locked Grandpa." Rayne answered for his mother.

Genma's face first turned to one of wonder, then to one of anger. "Ranma, how could you let yourself be locked again. A re you really that weak?"

Ranko felt a little weak under her fathers glare. "I am not weak. I just had some circumstances that screwed me over is all." she defiantly said.

Nodoka came down from upstairs and lightly scolded. "Drop it Husband. This isn't her fault. She's been held against her will for ten years on drugs. She doesn't need this kind of stress right now."

Genma's slumped his shoulders. "I am going for a walk. I need some time to think about this." Turning his back to Ranko with a disgusted look, he then turned and walked down the hall to the front door and left.

As Ranko watched her father leave she scornfully announced. "This is peachy, my old man is a fat, bald guy."

Nodoka walked over and put her arms around Ranko. "Now, now, it's not polite to say that about your father."

Rei then asked. "Why did Grandfather flirt with Mommy last night?"

Nodoka hugged Ranko tightly and looked over at Rei. "He was being drunk and stupid honey, he didn't know it was your mom at the time."

After Nodoka let her loose, she stepped back from her mom and took a seat on the couch. "This is just a little too much for me right now."

Rayne disappointedly spoke. "Grandpa is such a let down... I mean, Sasuke told me he was a Great martial artist."

Ranko started to laugh. "Hon, don't believe everything you hear, sometimes you may be disappointed later."  
_ 'Man here, and I had this idea that my old man was a strong and muscular guy.'_ Ranko thought to herself.

Later that day they all had lunch together, except for Genma. He was off sulking over his son, now turned daughter, and was trying to figure out if he wanted to keep her/him in the family.

While taking small bites of her food, Ranko thought about the mornings events. _'Wonder where the old man is now?'_

Ryoga took a bite of his food, swallowed and said. "Personally, I think we should think of something to do."

"Well what do you think we all should do?" Akane asked and then took a bite of her food.

Ryoga smiled while poking at his food some. "Well, Ranko's kids could use some fun and amusement. Maybe we could all visit a water park."

Ranko looked at Ryoga. "Are you sure you wanna go there I mean.."

Ryoga cut Ranko off. "If you're worried about my curse, they already know, and I have water proof soap. Besides this would be more for your kid's benefits than mine."

Ranko nodded, took a bite of her food, and then swallowed. "Well that sounds like fun, but my kid's don't have bathing suits, and neither do I."

Kasumi spoke up. "Well we could all make it a girl's day out and go shopping for bathing suits."

"That is a wonderful idea Kasumi." Nodoka stated and then took a sip from her drink.

Ranko finishing her food and then excused herself from the table. "Yea, sounds like a plan. But first I wanna take a walk."

**Walk to ease a troubled mind.**

Ranko made her way out of the house, and down the familiar streets of the town with her Kimono blowing in the breeze around her legs. _'Wow this place looks different now that I look at it in the daylight.'_

Looking at the canal, she suddenly had flashes of past; times where she used to walk on top of a fence that used to be, but was now replaced by a railing. She contemplated jumping up onto the railing, but changed her mind. _'Yea this kimono won't let me maneuver that.'_

As she moved down past the canal railing, she found a familiar piece of sidewalk. As she stepped closer towards a familiar door step, she had a remembered vision of an old lady slinging water all over her. _'Guess the old Ghoul finally croaked.'_

As Ranko explored, she came upon another very interesting sight. It was Furinkan High School, but it to be abandoned and closed down. The window's were boarded up, and the gates looked rusted shut. _'I wonder when they closed it down?'_

Looking over she saw an old man standing nearby and walked over to speak to him. "Excuse me sir, when did they close the school?"

The old man turned to greet her. "Well that happened some odd six years ago. You see, they found out the principal wasn't who he claimed he was. He was actually a patient from a mental institution. Well, one day his jokes went too far and several students died, it's been closed ever since.

Ranko gulped some as she heard this. "Interesting."

The old man laughed. "My grandson say's its Ranma Saotome's fault. If he hadn't left Nirima, none of this would have happened."

Ranko gulped again. "I don't know how it was his fault since he has no control over others, you know.."

The old man shrugged at Ranko. "Well it's just that Ranma had became something of a Legend around these parts. He was young, but rumors of his exploits went farther than even he had."

Ranko had started to get interested now. "Sounds like a popular guy, but that still doesn't explain how he would have helped to stop those kids from dying."

"You know your right about that, but at the same time if Ranma had stayed around til the principal retired, I'm pretty sure he would have stayed in check." The old man paused, appraised Ranko and then continued. "By the way, names Shiago Eines, and yours?"

Ranko shrugged casually. "My name Is… uh… Ranko."

The old man listened. "Do you have a last name, Ranko?"

"Um well." Ranko started while thinking fast. "It's Tendo... Ranko Tendo."

The old man thought about this. "Oh, your Akane's cousin. I seem to remember you now, but you sure have changed a lot, still, your a pleasant sight to look at."

Ranko bowed. "Thanks for the compliment." She said, then took a breath and gave the old man a pleasant smile. "Well, I need to get back home. Take care."

"Alright, perhaps I will see you around. Take care young-en." As the man watched Ranko leave, he thought to himself. _'Definitely Ranma. I'm glad she/he is back. Things should start to get back to normal.'_

_

* * *

_**Notes: Well Ranma finds out she isn't back on track yet, but she also starts finding out new things about her surroundings, also Genma has found out his son is home and locked, and is trying to figure out wheather to keep Ranma in the family, or not.**_  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: Well this chapter would have been out sooner, however my beta reader has a lot of issues popping up in his life, so on behalf of him, and myself sorry for the wait. I would also like to place a shout out to my other beta reader Tuatara, I got two versions back on this chapter, and liked them both so I combined the best parts from each.  
**

* * *

**Coma White Chapter:5**

Ranko moved down the dry streets of Nerima under a hot sun without a hint of rain in sight. As a gust of wind swirled up a cloud of dust around her, she was forced to close her eyes into a squint in order to protect them.

Cough, cough wheeze. "Damn, this wind and dust sucks." Ranko said to herself quietly.

As Ranko walked down an old path she recalled taking in the past, she hopped up onto a brick wall and continued her trek. Unfortunately, she stopped to note some cats hanging out in the alleyway. Taking a moment to remember her debilitating phobia of felines, she jumped backwards in fright. Ranko promptly ran smack into and _through_ the side of a house, making a perfect Ranko-shaped hole in it. Falling to the ground, she was immediately startled by an irate man yelling at her.

"What the hell you doing, you crazy girl! Trying to wreck my home?" the man shouted at Ranko who jumped up with her hair standing on end, and made a run for it out his front door.

The man watched the blue and red haired woman run off. "Crazy woman!" he said to himself in disgust.

Ranko ran as fast as she could, dust kicking up under her feet and her kimono gaining a couple of tears along the way. Finally collapsing on the concrete sidewalk, she winced a little from the pain of scraping her knees. Gasping for breath, Ranko panted as she tried to bring her breathing under control.

'_Man, not sure what's worse, the cats or that man yelling at me! What was his problem anyways? I was just passin' by,' _Ranko thought to herself as she stood up. Dusting herself off, she frowned at the rips she found in her clothes. "Damn it, Mom's gonna kill me," she chided herself, as she could see her leg through a two-foot tear in the fabric that went from her ankle up to her knee.

**Two block's later...**

In the midst of a delivery, Shampoo caught sight of the young woman up ahead. She quickly brought her bike to a stop, jumped off, set her delivery down on the seat and grabbed Ranko.

Ranko looking up to see who had just grabbed her and gave her a blank expression. "Hello to you too Shampoo. Mind letting me go now?" she said dryly.

"You tell me why you go have kid's with other man!" Shampoo said angrily.

Ranko frowned some. "What are you insinuating?"

"Is you pervert? Is that why you have sex with other man?" Shampoo queried in a tone that bordered on bitchy

Grabbing both Shampoo's hands, Ranko forced her to let go, giving her a push back and scowling darkly at the Amazon. "Yeah, let me tell ya, I like tha boys…they make me _so_ hot," she said sarcastically as she took two steps back and warily watched Shampoo's eye start to twitch in response to her answer.

Shampoo stood there trembling in anger at Ranko. She even began to growl.

'Uh oh I think I pissed her off with that one.' Ranko thought as she quickly scanned the area and looked for a quick escape route. Narrowing her eyes on a fire escape, she leaped into the air as Shampoo leaped with her while trying to strike as Ranko planted a foot on her face, pushed off, grabbed the fire escape and nearly let go. After recovering her hold, she pulled herself up to the roof as she turned her head to see Shampoo land onto the pavement with a thud. "Your gonna have to try harder than that to get me China doll." she called tauntingly.

Taking off to the other end of the roof while lifting the Kimono some so she wouldn't trip, she made a familiar jump to the next roof, but ended up falling onto her face with a thud. After a couple of crashes and booms later, she slowly stood up and pushed the objects that had fallen on her off onto the tin of the roof.

Shampoo slowly recovered from her fall, and carefully sat up while rubbing her stinging forehead. _'Damn Ranma, he will not get away with this.' _Shampoo vowed as she grabbed her delivery and her bike, and then headed off to her destination.

**Three block's from home. **

After finally arriving within three blocks of her new home, Ranko was brought to an abrupt stop by a gnarled walking stick being wielded by a short wrinkled old woman that pushed her back.

"Ranma, didn't I tell you to come see me as soon as you could speak?" Cologne rudely asked because she was slightly annoyed that she had to come to Ranko, and not the other way around.

Ranko let out a sigh while panting for breath some from the exertion she had just been through. "Sorry Granny, I didn't forget, I just wanted to look around home and then check on my kids. After that I was planning to come and see you."

"Indeed you were." Cologne said in a dull tone. Gesturing with her walking stick for Ranko to follow her, she continued. "Come son in law, we have much to discuss and I won't take excuses or no for an answer."

Ranko After Ranko dejectedly followed Cologne back to the now familiar cat café, Ranko sat down on the edge of a stool from which she could quickly move if needed and carefully explained the sordid situation to the aged Amazon as she saw it.

"So you see why I can't marry Shampoo." Ranko finished while hoping the elder would understand.

Cologne took a puff off her pipe and eyed Ranko with a blank expression. "So, even if you get your divorce, you have no intention of marrying my great granddaughter?"

"She is married to Mousse isn't she, what should it matter?" Ranko asked curiously.

Cologne gave Ranko a slight smile and then said in a serious tone. "We allow the marriage of more than one wife, and or husband. You could just as easily marry Mousse, thus abiding by the laws of the tribe."

"I am sorry Granny, but I had ten years of my life stolen from me, why should I let your tribe take my freedom of choice away from me?" Ranko said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Cologne fixed Ranko with a glare. "Ranma, you're the one that ate my Great Granddaughter's prize, beat her on the challenge log, and then received the kiss of death. Personally, I think you would be happy with the kiss that came later than that one, after all, you beat her in your non cursed form which shows you are a worthy husband for the tribe. Not to mention all the training I gave you."

"Look, Granny, I appreciate the training you gave me, but I'm a Japanese and, I guess, American citizen. I don't fall under any of your laws. If you wanna send Shampoo on a suicide mission to kill me, so be it. But know this…I have two kids, and I'll gladly dispose of anyone that tries to come between me and them," Ranko said as she returned Cologne's glare with an even colder one of her own.

Cologne's expression lightened up. "You play a dangerous game Ranma... prepare yourself, because you leave the tribe and I no choice; we will come for you one week from today, count on it."

Ranko took a couple steps toward the exit, gave Cologne a nod and then said. "Well, good luck to you all, I won't go down easy I can promise you that." she said as she quickly left the cafe.

Cologne took one last puff on her pipe and then looked at the table in a downcast manner as she picked up a pen, wrote out a letter to the tribe, and confirmed that action needed to be taken to ensure Ranma would be acquired for the tribe's use.

**The trip home.**

Ranko sighed as she walked home, keeping to the main roads and constantly making sure to watch for anyone else who might come after her. She now had a whole new problem – technically an old problem – to worry about in the form of the Amazons.

_'Perhaps this was a mistake to come back home.' _she wondered as things started to look grim for her.

As she continued her trek she gave herself a nod. "I have to get my skills back, and fight for my kids and for myself if I expect to have freedom when it is all said, and done." She said in a determined tone to herself.

She had made it about another block when she spotted Ukyo walking up the street. Ranko quickly dashed behind some crates that were stacked alongside a gas station.

As Ukyo looked up she made out a figure that dashed behind some crates. "I swear, weird people these days." she muttered to herself and then said. "Alright you, come out from behind those crates. If you want a fight, you got one." Ukyo said as she shifted some while pulling her battle spatula from behind her back and readying it for battle.

Ranko cautiously came out from behind the crates and looked at Ukyo.

Ukyo scanned over the woman in question and then asked. "Alright sugar, who are you and why are you trying to ambush me?"

"Actually I wasn't trying to ambush you, I thought you were going to ambush me." Ranko explained dryly.

Ukyo pondered that for a few minutes as she studied the girl while trying to remember the voice she had just heard.

"Ranchan, is that you?" she asked in wonder as she curiously looked at the blue and red haired girl.

"Yea it's me Uchan, kinda been away for awhile sorry about this." Ranko said in a faint voice.

Ukyo walked over and gave Ranko an embrace and then asked. "Would you like some hot water?"

"No thanks Uchan, it wouldn't do any good anymore, but I appreciate the offer." Ranko said with a sad smile.

Ukyo looked at Ranko's sad eyes and then to her red, and blue hair. "Is your haired dyed, Ranchan?" she asked curiously.

"No it is not, I kinda wish it were, but I didn't get much of a say in the matter, much as me being locked wasn't my say either." Ranko said in a sad voice as she lightly kicked a loose chunk of brick that had fallen off one of the nearby buildings.

Ukyo shrugged and then gave Ranko a smile "Your life never was anything but one chaos after another, come on Ranchan I will walk you home."

"You don't have to Uchan, I will be alright." Ranko said in a light voice as they walked.

Ukyo chuckled at Ranko. "No, I insist. I haven't seen you in awhile, this way we can talk, besides I wanna tell you about who I got married to recently."

Ukyo looked at her friend after she told Ranko the happenings in her life.

"Sorry if my memory is hazy on this Uchan, but who is Konatsu? Again?" Ranko asked while trying to jar her memory.

Ukyo smiled and then patted Ranko lightly on the back. "We aren't too far away, if you like you can meet him again, my restaurant isn't far from here." she explained.

Ranko chuckled some. "Sure, but I gotta go soon, I was supposed to go bathing suit shopping with my mother and kids today."

"You have kids!" Ukyo nearly shouted and then gave Ranko a wild look. "Who is the father, and what are their names?" she asked half excitedly.

Ranko laughed at Ukyo's display. "Don't act like it's a happy occasion, as much as I love my children, I by no means love their father because of what he did to me."

"Oh Ranchan, what do you mean? What happened?" Ukyo asked in a caring tone.

Ranko explained about Kuno and the drugs he had forced her on, and the fact that she was a legal citizen of the United States and also Japan.

"So your kids are illegally here. You should get that fixed before they get deported, Sugar." Ukyo said with a sincere tone of voice.

Ranko nodded her head. "Well, the plan is to divorce that damned Kuno, and then I will move back to California in order to sell off that house. While I am at it, I'll apply to get my kid's proper paperwork to be in Japan."

Ukyo gave Ranko a warm smile. "Sounds like you have it all planned out, Ranchan…and by the sound of it, you'll have enough money to buy a small country. I almost envy you, but at the same time not at all. And if I ever lay my eyes on that bastard again, I promise he'll feel more pain than he's ever imagined," she declared. Giving it some more thought as they walked, Ukyo said, "You know, I'll bring Konatsu over later tonight. For now, let's just get you home so you don't get yelled at. Does Akane still have that temper of hers?"

"Not that I could tell, she seems happy I am back, so that is a big help, I think." Ranko said as they made their way to the Tendo Dojo.

A companionable silence fell between them as they strolled down the sidewalk, interrupted by the loud crashes of rolling thunder that was shortly followed by the beginnings of rain. Quickly picking up their pace, they hastily took shelter inside a small convenience store just as the skies opened up and dumped buckets out onto the dry and dusty city.

"I swear, Ranchan, you're just one petite but powerful water magnet, you know that?" Ukyo said playfully as she bought them both umbrellas.

Ranko slightly shrugged her shoulders as she watched the rain pour outside. "Yea, I suppose your right, guess we can chalk it up to being back in Nerima." she said with a giggle, that escaped her lips naturally.

"You know Ranchan, I think you've been a girl for too long, you're actually giggling." Ukyo said with a slight amused expression.

Ranko shrugged her shoulder's as they both left the store and went out into the pouring rain and continued walking to the Tendo's.

"Uchan, why don't you stay over until the rain let's up." Ranko offered.

Ukyo gave Ranko a smile and nodded. "Alright, I will take you up on the offer, but I need to call Konatsu as soon as we get to your house." she said as they looked both ways before crossing the road with the rain beating down around them.

**The Tendo's five minutes later.**

Both girls entered the house with their clothes a bit on the damp side.

"Akane are you home?" Ranko called from the front door while both her, and Ukyo took off their shoes.

"Yes, I am in the living room. What ya need?" Akane called from the living room while watching TV.

As Ranko and Ukyo made their way to the living room, Ranko decided to ask, "Akane, you don't mind if Ucchan here stays 'til the rain lets up, do ya? I ran into her on my way back."

Akane tried to keep from getting angry. "Sure Ran-_ko_, that'll be fine," she said as she turned the TV off and quickly headed upstairs to avoid yelling.

Ranko watched her go curiously.

Ukyo let out a sigh as she watched Akane go upstairs. "I should probably go, Ranchan, before I get you in trouble. Me and Akane aren't on the best of terms."

Ranko was about to say something, but Ukyo had left before she could do so. Heading upstairs she opened the door to Akane's room and found a disgruntled Akane reading a book with an expression that bordered on anger.

"She went home Akane, I am sorry I didn't know." Ranko said with her head slightly bowed.

Akane looked up from her book. "You didn't have to send her home on my count, we had a fight over you the day you disappeared, she blamed me for your leaving Nerima, and I lashed right back with my own accusations. We have been fighting back, and forth ever since."

"Who won?" Ranko foolishly asked.

Akane chuckled at Ranko's careless question. "You know, that probably isn't a question you should be asking, hon. However, if you must know, there's never been a winner or a loser as of yet." _'I guess it's about time I made up with Ukyo, for Ranko's sake,' _she thought as she pulled Ranko into an embrace. They spent a few soothing minutes in each other's arms before separating.

"So where are my kids Akane?" Ranko asked as she worriedly looked around.

Akane gave Ranko a reassuring smile and then said. "Don't worry, they are with your Mother and Ryoga. They took them to the arcades."

"Alright then. I need to take a quick shower, do you have any more of my old clothes laying around?" Ranko asked in a gentle tone.

Akane chuckled while pointing towards the closet. "They are in there, go all the way to the back of the walk-in, on the fourth shelf; all stacked neatly in plastic."

Ranko smiled at Akane as she walked into the walk-in, and found her clothes, and took out an old orange button down shirt and a pair of blue silk pants.

"Ranko, tomorrow we should really see about getting you some clothes that are more your age." Akane said as she kissed Ranko's cheek.

Ranko let out a sigh. "I guess you're right, but I didn't really get any taller than I was," she said as she turned to go take her bath.

Akane shrugged a little as she watched Ranko leave. _'Yeah, she really didn't age much despite ten years going by…but still, her mother will start in on her if she doesn't start dressing more her age. I'm sure Auntie will say she has to set a proper example for the kids.'_

**Later that evening.**

Nodoka frowned at the clothes Ranko was wearing. "Dear, those clothes just will not do. You are a grown woman now, and I think it's time you set an example for your children."

'_Called it!'_ Akane snickered to herself.

"But Mom, I like these." Ranko said in a small whine.

Nodoka laughed at Ranko's childlike display. "You're not a kid anymore, tomorrow we are going to get you some clothes suitable for a woman your age."

"Alright Mom, but I don't have any money." Ranko said looking down.

Nodoka laughed as she ruffled Ranko's hair. "Not to worry. I have money, and I will not mind spending it on my daughter…or my grandchildren!"

Kasumi who was sitting on the couch spoke up. "We could do the bathing suit shopping at the same time."

"That sounds like a good idea sis." Akane said as she poured some tea into her glass.

Ranko just about fell over when Rayne and Rei (both girls at the time) jumped up on her from both sides simultaneously. Wrapping her arms around them so they wouldn't fall, she chuckled happily. "Come on, guys. You could warn me, ya know."

Rayne and Rei giggled happily in response, just pleased to be with their mother.

Stepping back to the couch, Ranko dropped down onto it with both her children in tow. All three of them then began to play-wrestle each other on the couch.

Watching the joyous family moment, Nodoka laughed softly. _'I wish I could have had Ranko with me at that age. I'm sorry, sweetheart…I've missed so much of your life,' _she thought sadly.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked out toward the hall leading to the front door as they heard it open and footsteps approach.

"Boy we need to talk out in the dojo." Genma said to Ranko

Ranko didn't like the sound of her father's voice, but nodded as she and her children stood up.

Once they were standing, Genma, Ranko, and her kids went to the dojo with Nodoka following behind them.

Akane watched them go and asked outloud. "Think I should go as well?"

"No, stay in here. You will only make things a little worse by going in there." Soun said in a calm tone to his daughter as he came into the living room from the kitchen.

**Dojo Saotome Family meeting.**

After entering the dojo, Ranko took as seat on the floor by the back wall with her children where they quietly watched the back of Genma as he stood facing away from them and staring at a banner that was mounted on the wall he was facing.

As Nodoka walked in, she shut the door to the Dojo and then took a seat by Ranko.

Genma turned at the sound of the door being shut, took note of his wife sitting down by his son, turned daughter, and carefully considered his words.

Ranko looked at her pondering Father and thought to herself. _'I wonder what he is fixing to say.' _"Alright Pops what is this meeting about?" She continued aloud.

"I have been thinking about this for a little while now, and I have decided that I will not disown you. However, I do not believe that you are worthy to be the heir to the school any longer." Genma said in a nonchalant tone.

Ranko was about to retort when her mother spoke up. "Husband on what grounds do you believe she is unworthy of being the heir to the school?" Nodoka questioned.

"The school has to be carried on by a man, and since Ranma is no-longer a man she doesn't deserve the title. Woman cannot compete on a man's level, after all, you have said so yourself No-Chan." Genma argued.

Nodoka gritted her teeth, realizing he was right and that she had said exactly that. "While it is true that I said this, I was never referring to Ranko here. She is clearly exceptional by any measure. You know that. Are you honestly saying that you would allow the school to die with you?"

"I am simply saying that if she was to marry, then her husband will be named the heir to the school." Genma said in a calm tone as he looked at his wife nervously.

Ranko let out a sigh, while looking at her father. "Well, that's pretty funny, then. I guess the school will die with you, Pops, 'cause I ain't marryin' a guy…and I'm divorcin' Tachi as soon as Nabs comes through with the paperwork, so don't you even get started on that route," she said with an air of growing annoyance.

Nodoka weighed their options briefly before coming to a decision. Nodding to herself, she spoke. "Husband, perhaps you and Ranko here should have a match. If she wins, she stays heir to the Saotome School, and if she loses, you may have your way." The Saotome matriarch's tone made it clear that this was not merely a suggestion.

Genma frowned at his wife and then spoke with a little fear in his voice. "Why should we have a match when we both know that this is a man's sport and nothing but a hobby to woman."

"Pops, I'm game if you are, 'cause from my perspective, you're a coward. I think you're just afraid that I might still be better then you," Ranko replied mockingly.

Genma frowned as his former son. "I'm not gonna lose to you, boy! You're just a shadow of the son I lost."

"If I'm just a shadow of my former self, then what do ya have to worry about? Let's face off once and for all, so I can show my kids that women can be tough!" Ranko said as she sprung up to her feet.

Rei and Rayne watched while listening to the exchange of words and gestures that both their mother, and grandfather were exchanging.

Genma nodded grimly to Ranko. "Fine Ranma, if you and your mother need proof that you are too weak to carry the school on, then proof I will provide." his glasses gained an evil gleam as he backed up to ready himself for a fight.

Ranko took a position across from her father. "I ain't gonna hold back, Oyaji! I haven't forgotten our reunion."

Genma twitched some while gaining a flush to his nose and cheeks and was wanting to forget his drunken stupor.

Ranko closed her eyes and concentrated. _'This'll be fun. I can practice for the Amazons and beat the old man at the same time,' _she thought as a small grin formed on her lips. She slipped into a relaxed stance and proclaimed, "Whenever you're ready, old man. Come get some!"

Genma readied himself and dropped into his own stance while trying to put off an air of confidence. _'This is easy, she has let her training go lax while having kid's and all.' _he thought while trying to make himself believe that she would be easy pickings.

Genma rushed forward while using a palm strike that Ranko ducked around in a slightly clumsily manner that caused her to be struck in her ribs and staggered her back a little ways. With a quick return, she caught her father with a kick that caught him in the chest and caused him to fall backwards into a roll that easily brought him back to his feet.

Eying each other warily, both martial artists prepared their next set of attacks.

Ranko laughed and charged her father while throwing a smooth and fluid combination of high speed punches. In a futile attempt to block all of them, Genma found he was getting hit at least once for every five strikes that Ranko made.

Genma retaliated by grabbing Ranko's left arms, spinning and throwing her up and over his head until she hit the floor with a thud. Spinning around, she performed a leg sweep that caught her father off guard and knocked his feet out from under him so he landed on his back with enough force to make the floor shake.

Ranko got to her feet while looking down at her father. "Why don't you give up? You're far too old to be beatin' me, Oyaji," she mocked with her voice exuding confidence.

Genma jumping to his feet without a word to Ranko and then jumped up into the air while trying for a drop kick that Ranko ducked under and then jumped up to grab her father while throwing him back down to the floor as her battle aura flared up.

Ranko landed on one foot with the other raised and bent at the knee slightly, her arms spread out as she struck a pose. "Ya ready to give, old man? 'Cause I could do this all day! Plus, it gives the kids a show. They haven't gotten to see their mom show off too much, y'know."

"Pfft, if you think I'm done already, then you're sadly mistaken, _girl_," Genma snarled, snapping back to his feet and throwing a flurry of strikes. Ranko was mostly successful in blocking her father's attack, only getting struck by a few hits – though they were enough to cause her to wince in pain.

Nodoka observed the match closely. _'Ranko is a little out of practice, but that's only to be expected after everything she's been through. She is far from unworthy of the school,'_ she noted with pride.

Rayne and Rei watched in awe as they witnessed both their mother and grandfather throwing punches and kicks so rapidly that the girls could barely follow them.

'_Wow, Grandfather is truly skilled! I can't believe it!' _Rayne exclaimed to herself.

After thirty minutes both Ranko and Genma were winded and backed off.

"I admit you're still strong, but I still stand firm. You're a girl, Ranma. I can't allow you to continue the school. Allowing this transgression will be to ignore every principle I've ever lived by." Genma stated adamantly, still rasping for breath.

Ranko's brow furrowed from hurt and frustration. "I didn't ask to be a girl, you know…why take what I have left, Pops? Stupid Tachi stole my manhood and ten years of my life away, and now you're gonna let him steal my school away from me too?"

"Son... I." Genma found himself at a loss for words as he saw a tear fall from Ranko's right eye.

Nodoka sighed. "Husband I don't approve of this, she is hardly unworthy of the school, you are wrong."

"No-Chan the school..." Genma started to say before being interrupted.

Nodoka shook her head. "No, this isn't going to happen. Allow her to keep the school with her, husband. She has a son, you know. Your _grandson_. He can take over when he gets older. You'll see that he has potential."

Genma looked at his wife and then at Rayne in a contemplating manner. "It would take a lot of work, Ranma was five years old when he started training... the boy there is already set in his ways, he could never make the training under my tutelage."

"No way, he won't be training under you. A lot of stuff may still be fuzzy, but I _know_ your training methods are crazy! I'll teach him. Just 'cause I'm a girl now, it doesn't make me weak. I beat Herb when I was a girl, right? I also beat that Taro guy," Ranko argued. Thinking hard, she tried to remember what else she'd accomplished as a female. "I also toppled a mountain for Akane. I will _not_ falter," Ranko swore, her voice sounding firm.

Recalling Ryoga's story of the battle at the mountain, Genma sighed. "Fine, Ranma. I will allow you to teach your son the Art, but once he is skilled enough, you are to name him the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts and then take your rightful place as any woman of the family should," he stated, not wanting to discuss the matter any further. After speaking his mind, he turned and left the dojo.

"Chauvinist pig!" Ranko growled to herself. _'…Huh. That's probably how I would have turned out if not for Jusenkyo,' _she realized sadly.

Shaking her head, Nodoka stood up and wrapped her arms around Ranko, holding her daughter in a loving embrace. "Don't let him bother you, sweetheart. He couldn't actually take the school away whether he wanted to or not. Happosai has the final say, not him."

"I just wish I could get myself fully on track Mom. Then I can really show him I still got it." Ranko said while still sounding a little miffed.

Nodoka sighed. "Ranko, I believe your father is just worried that you are far better than him, and since you're a woman now, it bothers him a lot more. You should know better than anyone that all he wanted was a son that was a man amongst men."

Ranko thought about the past while looking at her mom. "Didn't you wish for that too mother?"

"Yes, I wished for it, and I received it. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I held you in my arms and I spoke with certainty that even though your cursed form was female, you were still unquestionably a Man Amongst Men. My opinion still has not changed even today, honey," Nodoka said sincerely as she hugged Ranko tightly.

Rayne stood up along with Rei as they both walked over to hug their mother and their grandmother.

Ranko looked at her kids with a slight smile. "Well, I won't stop practicing my art and both of my kids will be just as strong as me mother, I promise."

"I know they will, they have a good teacher. Show your father he is wrong for me." Nodoka said with a slight chuckle.

Ranko nodded at her mother. "I will Mother, I promise; and Ranko always keeps her word." she said with confidence in her voice.

**Later that night.**

Akane sat by the dojo door watching as Ranko, and her kid's were practicing together as Ranko taught her kid's the basic principles of martial arts; how to kick, punch, and take falls.

Ranko studied Rayne for a few minutes. "Rayne what kind of training do you have?"

"I never was taught anything Mom, I learned how to meditate from him, but that is all." Rayne said while being honest.

Ranko nodded at her son and then looked at her daughter. "And what about you, Rei?"

"I know basic kendo. Father made me take it since I was staying on the campus." Rei said with a slight smile.

Ranko sighed while looking at her son and feeling bad for him. "So, let me guess, cause of your curse he wouldn't allow you to practice the art or kendo?"

"Yea that basically sums it up Mom." Rayne said with a small voice.

Ranko patted him on the head. "Well Rayne, you're far from hopeless. You have a lot of potential that just needs to be unlocked." turning her gaze to Rei she smiled.

"If Rei can do basic kendo, couldn't your mom teach her how to use the Saotome sword style." Akane asked curiously.

Ranko pondered for a minute. "I suppose she could, but does Mom still practice?"

"Why yes, she does as of matter of fact." an old crackling voice unexpectedly spoke.

Ranko and her kids, along with Akane, turned their heads to the figure that turned out to be none other than Happosai.

"Old Letch, you're still kickin'?" Ranko asked with a slight chuckle due to the fact that she somewhat remembered and maybe even missed the old man.

Happosai cackled a bit. "Ranma-baby, where have you been?" he exclaimed as he leapt over to grope Ranko's chest, earning a quick punch to the top of his head.

"I don't think so, old man," Ranko said, feeling familiarity in the exchange.

Akane sighed, shaking her head. "I swear, you never change, Happosai."

"Of course I don't! I'm older than dirt, you know! You expect me to change my ways now? But back to the subject of your mother, Ranma…she is a lot better with the sword than she lets on," Happosai said as he looked over Ranko's appearance. "You sure changed a lot, sweet cheeks."

Ranko flushed, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. "Cut that out, old man! Especially in front of the kids! Jeez."

Happosai paused and truly took note of the children for the first time before turning a fascinated eye back to Ranko. "My oh my…there's quite the story behind all this, isn't there, sweeto?"

Ranko simply smirked and shook her head. "Boy, you ain't kiddin'."

* * *

**Notes: Well Ranko seems to be getting back on track nicely learning about her old friend Ukyo getting married.**

**Genma didn't disown his child, but is set in Ranma passing the dojo down to her son soon as he is skilled enough, Ranko, and her mother are not all too happy about this, but will abide for now.**

**Amazon's, Kitty cat's, and Panda-bears Oh My! Ranko sure has her work cut out for her, and her children, Next Chapter Nab's is back, along with a special guest appearance.**

**As always much love please leave a review. ~Zeltronica~  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: Sorry for the wait, I wanted this done right. Special thanks to both my beta readers who helped make this edit perfect together.**

**I hope to continue bringing the story to greatness for your viewing pleasure. ~Zeltronica~  
**

* * *

**Coma White Chapter:6**

**Ranma and Happosai have a sit-down**

"So, yeah, old man, I've pretty much been married to Tatewaki for the last ten years and drugged up to the point that I didn't even know who I was. My own kids thought I was a drug addict because of the lies he filled their heads with while I was too out of it to notice anything," Ranko explained, feeling her anger build up just from speaking on the subject.

Happosai gave Ranko a sympathetic look. "Would you like me to administer the strength-sapping moxibustion technique on him when you get hold of him, Ranma?"

"Nah, I have far worse things planned for him. After I get my divorce, I'll act on them," Ranko declared with a snarl. "But thanks anyway, old man."

Rayne poked his mother in the shoulder to get her attention. "Mom, can we go eat ice cream?"

"Rayne, hon, can you wait 'til tomorrow, sweetie?" Ranko asked in a kind tone.

Rayne gave a slight shrug and bowed his head. "Well, I guess. It's just that I wanted to do something with you and my sister, Mom."

"Alright, just give me a few minutes and we'll go get some ice cream. Okay, sweetheart?" Ranko asked with a smile.

Rayne shouted happily as he took off out the dojo door and ran to his sister, who was overjoyed by the news. "Yahoo! Hey sis, we're going to get ice cream!"

"My kids have got me whipped," Ranko said with a bemused expression.

Happosai snickered. "It looks that way. So, is Rayne all-boy?"

"No, he has the same curse as me," Ranko explained. Remembering a forgotten portion of her past, she directed a glare at Happosai and continued. "Don't you dare try to grope or even harass him, or you'll regret it," she declared.

Happosai teared up and started to cry while rubbing his eyes with his hands. "Sniff, sniff, sob. Ranma-baby, do you think so little of me as to believe I would harass your child?"

"Oh, dry up, old man. I may be hazy on a lot of things, but a vision of you with Akane's first diaper is a part of my memories that I could never forget. Ew. So yeah, I'd say that you harassing my children would be right up your alley," Ranko said rather bluntly. She held up her right hand to form an L sign for "loser" with her index finger and thumb as she closed her right eye and scrunched up her features into an expression of disgust over the mere thought.

**Fifteen minutes later**

Ranko walked into the closet and picked through her old clothes. Finding a forest-green silk Chinese shirt that resembled her red shirt, she put it on. After going through her pants, she picked out a pair of blue silk ones, put them on, and tightened the drawstring a little. Shutting the closet door, she then headed downstairs to grab her kids to take them to the ice cream shop.

Rayne (a girl at the time) and Rei stood waiting for her at the door wearing matching white kimonos with a pink flower print and gold trim. "Okay guys, ya ready to go?"

"Yes, Mom," both girls declared in a cheerful and contented tone.

Ranko took Rayne's right hand and Rei's left hand. "Alright. C'mon, you two, lets go get some ice cream!"

Ranko and her kids continued their walk up the street. The sun was almost down and soon nightfall would overtake Nerima. Rei and Rayne's getas were making a clacking sound on the sidewalk while their mother padded along in her old kung fu slippers.

"Mom, think we can practice while going there?" Rei questioned.

Ranko said as she looked at her youngest daughter. "Sure, kiddo, if you want. Would you also like that, Rayne?" she asked as she turned to her son-turned-daughter.

"Sure, Mom, I would like that a lot," Rayne said with a smile as she watched her mother hop up onto a fence while standing still and maintaining perfect balance.

Ranko looked at both her children. "Okay, get up here. Climb or jump, whichever you feel comfortable with."

After carefully studying the fence, Rayne made a calculated leap that managed to get her standing on top of the fence, but she quickly lost her balance and started fall off into the canal. With a quick grab, her mother caught her and to her great relief helped her steady herself. "Thanks, Mom."

"Don't get used to this, dear. I won't always catch you. You'll need to learn to balance yourself, or else you'll be finding yourself in the canal," Ranko said in a gentle but firm tone.

Rei studied the fence and then jumped up onto it while standing on one leg. Pivoting on her right foot, she looked at her mother as she lightly stretched. "This is a piece of cake, Momma. Gymnastics for the win!"

"Show off," Rayne said through a slight growl at her younger sibling.

Ranko chuckled at this. "Take it easy, you two. Rayne, you'll be able to do this in no time, trust me."

Gradually picking up their pace, they started to walk along the top of the fence. Hopping up and over some two-foot walls that came along, Rayne and her sister were having a blast trying to keep up with their mother who was effortlessly making these jumps. They continued to travel in this manner until Ranko suddenly came to such an abrupt stop that her kids' momentum crashed into her back and caused all of them to fall down into a pile on the sidewalk.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Rayne asked with concern as Rei looked at her mother in wonderment after they got up off of her.

Ranko shook with fear. "N- no-th-ing," she stuttered as she tried to push down her fear of cats. There were two of the furry monstrosities nearby. Looking away, she slowly got to her feet. Dusting herself off, Ranko tried to put up a confident front, but that veneer of strength was paper-thin at best. After taking a moment to compose herself, she took her daughters' hands and continued their stroll towards the ice cream parlor.

Upon entering the domain of confectionary sweets, Ranko temporarily let go of her kids to check her funds. Rayne and Rei looked over at a table and saw two familiar-looking people. After a brief pause, their identities quickly clicked into place.

"Auntie Nabiki! Crazy Aunt Datchi!" they both cried in unison as they ran over to their table.

Ranko looked up in surprise to see Nabiki sitting at a table with her soon to be ex-husband's sister, Kuno Kodachi. With a puzzled expression, she slowly walked over and gave them a brief greeting.

"Ah, Ranko, we were just discussing you," Nabiki said as she took a sip of her cappuccino.

Ranko swallowed a small gulp to clear her throat and spoke. "I see. Good things, I hope?"

"Yes and no, dear Sister-in-law. Though I at one time despised you, now that I know the truth, my eyes are both open. Please have a seat. We will get these pleasantries out of the way," Kodachi said, giving Ranko a reassuring smile.

Ranko took a seat next to Nabiki as her kids took seats on either side of their Auntie Kodachi.

"How are you doing, Aunt Datchi?" Rayne asked in a pleasant tone.

Kodachi gave Rayne a warm smile. "I am doing fine, little one. I am certainly glad to see you and your sister again. How has your mother been treating you?" she asked.

"A lot better than Father ever did," Rayne and Rei stated as one.

Kodachi sighed, but gave Ranko a pleased smile. "Please do continue to treat them well. My foolish brother has never treated Rayne well, you see, and Rei has spent much her life so far at private school," she explained.

"Yeah, well, I plan on it. I am their mother after all, Kodachi-san. After my divorce, I plan to get them back into school and get their Japanese citizenship," Ranko declared firmly but warmly. She smiled pleasantly at Kodachi, finding that she was actually somewhat happy to see the familiar gymnast.

Kodachi laughed in her familiar semi-hysterical fashion for a minute or two. "Oh dear, you are misinformed, Ranko-san. I secured their citizenship a little over five years ago. They have as much right to be here as we do," she explained as she handed Ranko a packet with some documents in it.

Taking the packet, Ranko opened it up to find information showing both her Japanese and American citizenships, along with a receipt for her name change that was made without her consent. As she further inspected the paperwork, she found valid identification and paperwork for both of her children. "How did you find out about my curse?"

"I discovered it a long time ago when I was looking through my brother's documents. At that time, I labored under the impression that you were willingly married to my brother, and that the drugs you were on were due to an addiction you had gained because of severe depression. After all, everyone knows your life was quite mad. I'm truly sorry I did not see the full truth much sooner," Kodachi stated apologetically.

Ranko shrugged her shoulders as she scanned the restaurant's menu for treats that her girls would enjoy. "Well, I didn't even know I had gotten married, let alone had my kids," she explained while trying not to let her emotions get the best of her while her children were around.

Rayne and Rei found the desserts they wanted and pointed them out to their mother, who looked over their choices with a smile and a nod. Giving them some money, she sent them to the counter to order their treats.

"Well, the necessary paperwork has all been filed and Tatewaki has been notified. We could fly to California tonight, if you want, or head there in, say, two days' time to get your divorce finalized," Nabiki explained as she sipped her coffee.

Kodachi contemplated Ranko's desires for a divorce and came to a worrisome realization. "Dear Sister-in-law, is it your wish to gain all of my brother's assets?"

"Yes, actually, it is. He stole ten years of my life, not to mention my gender and the chance to see my kids growing up. I want compensation," Ranko stated in a cool tone.

Kodachi nodded and sighed. "You do know that both estates are in his name. If you take them, I will have no place to go. I'm not saying I couldn't manage with my own funds, but I am rather fond of my home here in Japan."

"Well you're in luck, Datchi. I was plannin' to sell the American estate and keep the one here in Japan. That bein' said, I've got no plans to evict you or deny you the chance to visit my kids. Even with our past, I don't hold a grudge against you in the least," Ranko explained in a kind manner. She then turned to Nabiki as she smiled. "Let's wait two days, 'cause my kids wanna go to a water park, and I don't wanna deny them something that could be a fun experience for them. Besides, I'd like a little more peaceful time with them before we have to deal with the tough stuff."

Nabiki gave Ranko a warm smile. "Sounds good. I'll take my break until you're ready to finish resolving this issue."

Rayne and Rei came back and retook their seats, one on either side of their Aunt Kodachi.

Ranko looked at their ice cream and noted that her kids loved chocolate, due to the fact their chocolate sundaes had lots of M&Ms all over them and were smothered in hot fudge. "Got enough chocolate, you two?"

"No, we wanted more, but the bowl wouldn't hold anything else," Rei said with a goofy grin.

Ranko laughed at her daughter's cute remark. "Alright, mind your manners. I'll be back in a minute," she said as she stood up and walked over to the counter.

"Hello, welcome to Shogun's Ice Cream. What can I get for you?" the girl at the register asked sweetly.

Ranko gave the girl a pleasant smile while looking over the menu. "I'll have a jumbo strawberry parfait, please."

The register girl jotted down Ranko's order and went to make it. Upon returning, she quoted the total to Ranko, who paid and then headed back over to the table where her two friends and her girls were sitting.

"Mom, what is that?" Rayne asked curiously, since she was used to ice cream in a bowl or on a cone.

Ranko gave her son-turned-daughter a big smile. "That, hon, is a strawberry parfait. It's really good. Want a bite?"

"Sure," Rayne said as she took a small sample, breaking out in a grin once she had tasted it. Rei also did the same, instantly falling in love with it.

Rei looked at her mother. "Can I get a parfait too after I finish my sundae?"

"Sure thing, dear. Just be mindful that havin' big snacks this late can cause nightmares. Do you each wantt one?" Ranko asked with a smile as she took a bite of her parfait, receiving two enthusiastic nods in return.

Nabiki chuckled while looking at Ranko. "You know, Ranko, you haven't changed much in all the time I've known you. It's always ice cream with you, and yet here you are warning your daughter about eating too much of it," she noted with a smirk.

"Sorry if that makes me kind of a hypocrite, but I'm a mother now and I have a job to make sure my kids are safe and content. 'Cause if they're not happy, then I'm not happy," Ranko answered while continuing to eat her food in small bites in order to set a good example for her children.

Kodachi smiled at this. _'I wish my mother would have been more like Ranko…but sadly, she left me and my brother when we were young, never bothering to look back.'_

Kodachi had grown wiser over the years and was noticeably less insane these days. She didn't mind that her sister-in-law's kids called her "Crazy Aunt Datchi." She was actually quite thankful at how things had turned out. If it weren't for Ranko and her children, she likely would still be maniacal and would probably have been committed to a psychiatric ward. After she had found her hated enemy married to her brother and she had seen the depths to which Ranko had fallen, she and Sasuke had helped to raise Ranko's children together. She still remembered trying to protect Rayne from being locked into his female form by his father. Though her brother had smacked Kodachi out of his way, Ranko, despite her drugged out stupor, had instinctively knocked Tatewaki through the roof each and every time.

"A mother's love, I only wish I had known it," she muttered quietly to herself.

Having heard her mumbled comment, Ranko pondered Kodachi's words. "So Sis-in-law, wanna go to a water park with the kids? We can make it a family event."

"Yes, I could definitely take a break from the company for a while. When will the event be, my dear?" Kodachi asked in kind.

"Well, tomorrow we're goin' bathing suit shopping and then later in the day we plan to go to the park," Ranko explained as she finished the last bite of her parfait while looking at her kids' pleading eyes. "You two are somethin' else, you know that?" she said as she dug into her pocket, pulling out the last of her money and giving it to Rayne so they could go get their own parfaits.

Rayne and Rei both gave their mother a smile as they jumped up from their seats and dashed to the counter.

"Don't run, girls," Ranko called after them.

Kodachi laughed at Ranko's words while arching an eyebrow. "So you also call Rayne a girl when in cursed form?"

"Yeah, helps maintain some sense of normality in public. I really want both of them to have as normal a life as they can. My life has had so much chaos in it, I couldn't bear it if they had the same issues," Ranko explained.

"What, aren't you going to choose their spouses for them, Ranko?" Nabiki asked with a grin.

"Oh, hell no! Absolutely not! I still love your sister a lot, so don't get me wrong, but I'd rather be gagged with a spoon than go through that crap again. And I'll die before I let my kids go through another version of my ridiculous life!" Ranko exclaimed.

Kodachi considered her sister-in-law's reply. "Are you still planning to marry Tendo Akane, dear?"

"Yeah, that's my plan, unless something gets in the way. Ya see, ten years ago your brother stole the best day of my life away from me. We finally had it all planned out. The marriage was going to go off without a hitch. With practice, I'd even gotten to the point where I would have been able to get through the vows without stuttering or anything. Mom and I chose a chapel to hold the ceremony in and Akane had chosen the cake. All that was left was for me to get to the chapel, say 'I do,' pass the ring and then help Akane cut the cake," Ranko growled her last words as her battle aura surged around her. She spoke again in a sinister tone, "When I get hold of my 'husband,' I am gonna beat the living hell outta him. Ya know, I only realized yesterday that the wedding band he used is the same one that was meant for Akane."

Nabiki's expression turned dark as she heatedly whispered, "He fucking didn't do that, did he! That ring cost a fortune! Damn him."

Ranko took her wedding band off and handed it to Nabiki. "Yeah, see for yerself. Not only does he steal my manhood, but he forces me ta bear his children, not that I regret them in any way. And then he's too damn cheap ta buy a wedding ring! Instead he uses mine as another way ta spite my male half."

"I am going to help you beat him down after the divorce court, so save me a piece of him," Nabiki said as she handed the offending ring back to Ranko, who slid it back onto her finger.

Kodachi asked curiously, "If you despise that ring so much, why not take it off?"

"Because once I divorce him, I plan to use it to imprint his forehead a few hundred times," Ranko explained with a nasty smirk while pushing her anger down quickly so that her approaching daughters couldn't see it.

Kodachi nodded her head. "Fair enough. I may help in that endeavor, since the drugs that my brother and his friend stole to use on you cost a fortune when we were forced to reimburse the manufacturer. We almost had to shut down all of our holdings because the courts thought we were secretly selling them to fund terrorists. He also modified some of my personal concoctions in his attempts to keep you in a stupor, which I simply cannot tolerate."

Ranko's grim expression turned to one of awe as her daughters sat back down with chocolate parfaits with chocolate fudge, M&Ms, and chocolate Oreo crumbs. "You want some more chocolate to go with your parfaits, girls?"

Rei cocked an eyebrow at her mother as she took a bite of her parfait.

"We love chocolate, Momma," Rayne said simply as she excitedly took a bite of her treat.

Ranko gave them both a bemused smile while leaning back against the cushion of the booth.

Nabiki made no comment as she noted that, despite the differences in Rayne's and Rei's hair color, they were both twins of their mother.

Kodachi smiled at Rei. who was gobbling down her second dessert when she abruptly stopped as she experienced a brain freeze. "You shouldn't eat so fast, Rei, dear."

"Sorry, Auntie, I keep forgetting," Rei said meekly as she continued polishing off her parfait, albeit at a slightly slower pace.

Ranko giggled at her kids. "Well, get ready 'cause once we're outta here, I am gonna make you both run off all that sugar. I don't want you bouncin' off the walls when it's time for bed."

"Mom, do we really gotta go to bed at eight?" Rayne whined.

"Yes, sweetheart. Until you're older, eight is very reasonable; you need the sleep," Ranko answered with a chuckle.

"Yeah, Bubba, I go to bed at eight all the time. I need my beauty sleep and so do you." Rei said while looking at Rayne.

Rayne looked to her sister while shaking her head. "I don't need beauty sleep, that's for girls," she protested.

"You're a girl right now, kiddo, and as much as you say you don't mind your cursed form, you'll wanna get the sleep your body craves. Otherwise, you might not like her eventually," Ranko explained in a slightly chiding tone. She looked at her son-turned-daughter with an amused expression as she realized how much Rayne was just like her when she was young, the only real difference being that she had fought her curse tooth and nail.

**Aftermath**

Rayne let out a moan as she eased herself onto the couch. "My tummy hurts, Momma."

"Yeah, mine too," Rei groaned while leaning against her part-time sister and feeling very sick to her stomach.

Ranko sighed and shook her head. "Well, next time go easy on tha desserts, okay? You asked me to train you, and that's exactly what we'll be doin'. From here on, you'll always wanna eat plenty of food and drink plenty of water, but you should avoid overdoin' sweets," she warned as she came back from the medicine cabinet. She poured some stomach medicine into a small cup and handed it to her younger daughter. "Drink that, sweetheart."

Rei took the cup and looked with curiosity at the pink substance inside and then drank the odd-tasting concoction as her mother had instructed. Once finished, she handed the cup back and watched as her mother promptly poured Rayne a helping of the same medicine.

"Drink up, dear," Ranko spoke to Rayne with a soft voice.

Rayne did as her mother asked and then handed back the cup.

"Alright, you two, once you feel better, you can head upstairs and take your bath," Ranko said as she eased herself down to the floor while trying to conceal her own somewhat upset stomach from her children.

After a few minutes, both girls got up and slowly headed upstairs for a bath.

Ranko's relaxation was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. _'I wonder who that could be?' _she thought as she slowly stood up, walked over to the telephone and picked it up. "Hello, Tendo dojo, how can we help you?"

"Oh, hello. I was calling for Tendo Akane. Is she available?" a male voice asked from the receiver.

Ranko leaned against the wall while trying to place the familiar voice. "May I ask who's speaking?"

Instead of an answer, she heard a click followed by a dial tone. With a confused glance at the receiver, she placed the handset back on the cradle and looked at it for a moment. "That was weird," she said flatly to herself. As she started to walk upstairs, she stopped when she heard a voice calling out to her.

"Ranko, would you mind helping me a moment?" Kasumi called from the kitchen.

Ranko walked into the kitchen to find Nabiki and Kasumi both straining to hold the refrigerator up that had somehow fallen and was now about to push both girls to the floor. Quickly moving in, she pushed the fridge back into place. Once she had dealt with that, she paused and pondered the unlikely predicament in which she had found the two eldest Tendo sisters.

"Um, why was the fridge about ta squash ya?" she asked with a puzzled expression.

"It was my fault, I snagged it with my coat and toppled it somehow," Nabiki explained.

Ranko smirked. "Well Nabs, you prob'ly shouldn't pick any more fights with fridges. They just might fight back."

"Very funny, Saotome. You probably shouldn't be picking fights with my sister's cooking anymore either," Nabiki said with a grin.

Ranko instinctively reached up and scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah. Well, I'm goin' upstairs to get ready for bed. G'night."

**Conversation upstairs**

Akane sat on her bed and read a very interesting yet rather bizarre romance novel about a wolf. When she heard the door open, she looked up from her story and noted that Ranko had just come into the room and was shutting the door closed behind her.

"Hey Akane, I was just getting ready for bed," Ranko said as she walked to the closet, where she grabbed a white T-shirt along with a pair of green-and-black boxers.

Akane gave Ranko a warm smile. "I was wondering when you were going to get home. Say, what was all that noise from downstairs?"

"Oh, that was just Nabiki and Kasumi getting into a fight with the refrigerator. It's all under control now," Ranko said with a smirk as she took off her shirt, tossed it to the floor and slipped on her tee. After taking off her pants and boxers, she tossed them onto the shirt, grabbed her replacement boxers and pulled them on.

Akane nodded as she looked away from Ranko while she changed her clothes.

Once Ranko had finished, she scooped up her clothing from the floor and walked out of the room to drop them off at the laundry room. After placing them in the hamper, she returned to the room as she contemplated the phone call. "Say, Akane, someone called for you."

"Oh? Who was it?" Akane asked while quirking an eyebrow, as she rarely received phone calls anymore.

Ranko shrugged while she walked over and sat on the bed next to Akane, scooting back to lean against the wall. "They wouldn't say, kinda like they froze up when they heard my voice or somethin'."

A minute later, the kids both padded into the room, laying out their futons and lying down at exactly seven forty-five.

Ranko watched her kids with a smile. "You've still got a few minutes, y'know."

Rayne looked at his mother and shook his head. "Nope, me and sis are going to bed now."

"Yeah, Momma, we're really tired," Rei said with a small smile for her mother.

Ranko bent down, tucked Rei in and then kissed her forehead. While doing the same with Rayne, she kissed him on the cheek. "Alright. Goodnight, you two," she said as she stood up, turned out the light, and walked out of the room. Akane followed, carrying a change of clothes. After Akane had shut the door, she and Ranko entered the furo, shutting the door behind them, and stripped down for their bath.

Ranko looked at Akane and gave her a slightly embarrassed smile as a pink flush flooded her cheeks.

"Something wrong, hon?" Akane asked as she noticed that her fiancée was red-faced.

Ranko quickly turned away, sitting down to scrub herself before their soak.

"Nothing really, just remembering when we first met," she shyly replied.

"Let's not worry about that, love. After all, we both were kinda dumb back then; you for not telling me in the first place and me for not checking to see if the bath was occupied," Akane said soothingly as she walked up behind the petite red-and-blue-haired girl to give her a reassuring hug.

Ranko looked at her image in the mirror with the larger girl standing behind her. "Akane, do you think I should start wearin' my old pigtail again?"

Akane chuckled at Ranko's question. "I personally like your hair down like this, Ranko. It looks more mature, you know? But if you wish to wear your old pigtail, that's okay with me. Your mom might say something, though," she said with a loving kiss to the back of Ranko's head.

"I think I'll keep wearin' it down, then. But I am considering gettin' it dyed," Ranko joked.

Akane shook her head. "Absolutely not, I like you just the way you are!" she exclaimed adamantly.

"I was kiddin', hon. I won't ever get it dyed, promise," Ranko said with a laugh as her shoulder received a playful punch.

Relieved, Akane laughed with Ranko after slugging her in the shoulder. "You and your jokes. You really think you're a comedian, don't you, Ranko?"

"Yeah, I've always been a natural, don't ya think?" Ranko asked as she rinsed off, with Akane finishing shortly after. Then both young women climbed into the bath together, soaking up to their necks in hot water.

Ranko sighed. _'I gotta deal with the Amazon question, but how? If I go it alone, I can't take them all. Can I?' _she questioned herself. _'You're Saotome Ranma. You moved a mountain for one girl. The Amazons will be cake, just annihilate them like you did Saffron,' _a voice spoke to her.

"You okay, Ranko? You look really spaced out," Akane asked, sitting across from Ranko. She leaned against the edge of the tub and looked into the smaller girl's deep blue eyes.

Ranko snapped her attention back to her fiancée. "Yeah, I'm fine, Akane. Just tryin' to find a tactic to beat the Amazons. They've said they'll be comin' for me in five days."

"Is that what has you so riled?" Akane asked calmly.

Ranko nodded while trying to fight back a sob that threatened to break her confident mask. "I'm just worried. I mean really worried, Akane. If they get a hold of my kids and try to use them for leverager somethin', I don't know what I'll do. For Kami's sake, I killed a supposed 'god,' even if he was really just a man with unique powers. I'm pretty sure I could wipe them all out, but I don't know that I could survive it."

"Don't think about that. They won't get your kids, we won't let them. They've gotta walk over all of us in order to get to them," Akane promised as she moved in to soothe the now-sobbing red-and-blue-haired girl. After Akane finally got Ranko calmed down, they both finished their bath and then got out of the tub to dry off.

Ranko shifted uncomfortably as the tile on the bathroom floor was cold. Shortly, both of the girls got dressed in their nightwear and headed to their room while being careful not to disturb Rayne and Rei.

Akane gazed at the children while wondering what it would be like to be a mother and to bear children. "Do you remember anything at all about, you know, having them?"

"Not really, Akane. I wish I could have a flashback or somethin' to regain the memory, but Kuno robbed me of that too. I hate that I don't even remember what it was like to give birth to them. I know that sounds funny since I was a guy, but that doesn't really apply to me anymore. I had to move on once I woke from the stupor he had me in for so long," Ranko said rather bitterly.

Akane let out a long, drawn out sigh as she stretched. "Well, I guess we should get some sleep," she stated, fighting off a yawn.

"Akane, for the last ten years, what have you been doing with your life?" Ranko asked while looking at the wall, where Akane's old picture collection was still displayed.

Akane took a seat on her bed and quietly spoke. "To be honest, I've been waiting for you. I just knew you'd return one day."

"But what would you have done if I'd never come out of that state?" Ranko asked as she took a seat next to Akane, not worried if she would get slapped soon.

"I really don't know. I'm not certain what I would have done or how I could have handled it," Akane admitted, wondering where the conversation was going.

Ranko looked at her fiancée with a sad expression. "Gomen nasai, Akane. Look, I don't know what will happen in the future and I can't go back into the past and change things. But I need to know that if something should happen, you'll be able to move on. You should be in college right now or off following that acting career you always talked about. You could'e even become a nurse a nurse or possibly a doctor by now. I never wanted you to waste your life on alcohol, so please don't let me steal your life away like Kuno stole mine away from me."

"How did you know?" Akane asked abashedly.

Ranko sighed, giving Akane a sad smile. "You forget that I can read ki paths, hon, and yours tell me that you've been on a bit of an alcoholic binge for, I'd say, at least seven years now. I know that's all my fault."

"No, it's not your fault at all, Ranko. I chose to drink and wait. The mistake is all mine, not yours; well, we can blame Kuno too. But you did come back in the end, and that's what matters most."

**The following morning**

Ranko walked into the kitchen with her two children following her. "Hey Kasumi, breakfast almost ready?" she asked upon seeing that Kasumi was still wearing her sleepwear.

"Good morning, Ranko. I'm afraid not; I just woke up. Oh my, I didn't realize the time," Kasumi said apologetically. Still rather tired, she let out a slight yawn while covering her mouth in embarrassment. "Pardon me!"

Ranko gave Kasumi a knowing smile. "Would you like me to cook this morning?" she asked warmly.

"If you'd like, you can help me cook. I couldn't ask you to cook by yourself," Kasumi answered with her usual pleasant smile.

Rei looked at Kasumi eagerly. "Can I help Momma cook?"

"If you would like to, sweetie. Have you ever cooked before?" Kasumi asked curiously.

Rayne laughed a little. "No, we don't have any experience cooking. We just wanna help Mom."

Kasumi's brow furrowed slightly with worry, though the children didn't notice.

"Um, I'll be showin' them how to do everything step by step, so you've got nothin' to worry about, Kasumi. I promise," Ranko said after catching Kasumi's worried expression.

Kasumi gave Ranko a cheerful smile. "Very well, then. I'll go do something else while you get breakfast ready, Ranko-chan."

Ranko watched Kasumi head back upstairs. "Alright, kids, let's go make some breakfast!" Ranko declared.

Halfway into making the meal, Ranko looked over at Rayne, who was just standing there looking lost.

"Honey, you wanna come give your sister a hand washing the vegetables?" she asked in a motherly tone.

"I, um…well, I, you see, I'm not sure if I should be helpin'." Rayne said with a small stutter.

Ranko chuckled lightly. "Rayne, there's nothin' unmanly about cooking, but if it bothers you so much, then go get some water."

"No, it's not that, it's just…I…well…Father made me do the cooking all the time he was home and when I messed up he would…um, he would slap me and sometimes whack me with that bokken of his," Rayne explained in a quiet voice.

Inside, Ranko raged while she gave her son a sympathetic look. "Hon, no one's gonna slap you, especially me. Now why don't you climb up on the stool next to your sis and give her a hand, okay?" _'Oh, it's _on_ when I get my hands on him!' _she fumed as she went back to cutting the vegetables Rei had just cleaned.

Rayne climbed onto the stool, washed his hands and then timidly helped his sister clean the cabbage.

Twenty-five minutes later, Ranko was teaching her children the proper way to make an egg roll. Even though she was a little rusty, she managed to show them an example that was still quite good. After she had her kids started on the egg rolls, she began the preparations for the natto beans.

As Soun sat reading his paper at the breakfast table, he was joined by Nabiki, Kodachi, and Akane, who took their seats around the table, along with Kasumi.

"Why, good morning, girls. Did you sleep well?" Soun asked his daughters and his guest.

Kasumi gave her father a smile, though he was hidden behind his newspaper. "I would say we are all doing fine, Father."

"Kasumi, dear, if you're in here, then who is making breakfast?" Soun asked, finally laying his paper down.

Nabiki pondered this while sighing a breath of relief. _'Well, if Akane's in here, then that means it only could be Ranko.'_

"Ranko-chan is making breakfast, Father," Kasumi said in a sweet tone.

Soun nodded and lifted his paper back up. "Thattaboy, taking the initiative," he mumbled to himself.

After twenty more minutes, Ranko and her children had started setting out the meal. "I hope you all like it, my kids worked very hard to help make this," Ranko said with a feeling of pride.

The Tendos all looked questioningly at the food, while Kodachi just smiled. "You all will be quite pleased, I assure you. Rayne is a very good cook, even though he claims not to know how. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

"Ye- yeah, I am, I suppose. Sorry for lying, Momma," Rayne said sheepishly.

Ranko just gave her son a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nothin' to be sorry about; I understand, you had your reasons. Let's just try not to make it a habit. Okay, kiddo?"

"Alright, Momma. No more lies, I promise," Rayne bowed to his mother.

Genma and Nodoka quietly made their way into the dining room and took their seats. With a cry of "Itadakimasu!" everyone started on their their meal.

Ranko eyed her father, watching a disgusted look form on his face. "Is there somethin' wrong, Pops?"

"No, I was just wondering who made the egg rolls. They're a little burnt," Genma said carelessly, provoking a wince from both Rayne and Rei.

Rayne and Rei both turned to their grandfather. "Sorry, Grandpa," both of them said in unison.

Ranko fumed as she took a bite of her food. Swallowing it, she glared at her father.

"Kasumi, could you please pass me some more rice?" Genma asked in a kind manner.

Kasumi gave Genma an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I didn't make breakfast this morning; perhaps you should ask your daughter," she suggested, plainly not happy about Genma's comment.

Nodoka took a bite of the egg roll on her plate and smiled. _'My grandbabies made this? It's delicious!' _she thought to herself, paying no attention to the glares her husband was receiving.

"You want seconds, Oyaji, get it yourself," Ranko said while clicking her chopsticks twice.

Reaching out with a small growl to serve himself a portion of rice, Genma was surprised when Ranko easily grabbed his fingers with her right hand, gave a slight turn and threw him over the table. He flew out through the doors and straight into the koi pond, all without disturbing anything on the table.

"Maybe if you're a good panda I'll feed ya some high-quality bamboo, Pops," Ranko snapped.

Genma-panda growled, stepping out of the koi pond and charging Ranko in an attempt to toss her. Instead, she simply leaned back on her right arm and kicked him with her left foot, sending him back into the koi pond. After finishing the last of her meal in four-point-four seconds flat, she sprang up from the table, charged her father and began pummeling him with one chop after another like a high-speed windmill.

Continuing their breakfast, the Tendos, Kodachi, and Ranko's children, along with the Saotome matriarch, just watched the fight proceed.

"Momma rocks!" Rayne exclaimed.

Rei was lost in thought as she watched her mother and grandfather, who were now trading roundhouse kicks and speed punches atop the fence surrounding the property. As they fought at seemingly inhuman speeds, neither of them appeared to be getting the least bit tired. _'Momma has to be at least a thousand times better than Father,' _she thought while wondering about all the times her father had told her that he had supposedly beaten the wicked and cowardly Saotome Ranma, who, thanks to Sasuke, she had later found out was her mother.

Kodachi waited for the inevitable outcome and was surprised when Ranko pulled off a perfect Akane-style "Mallet-sama" strike that sent her father skyward.

"Don't ever, and I mean _never_ insult my kids cooking! Ever!" Ranko shouted at the skyward panda who finally blinked out of view, eventually landing in the pen of a nearby zoo.

Nodoka watched her daughter while wiping her mouth, setting her napkin on the table next to her dishes. "Honey, why don't you come back to the table now?"

Ranko turned towards her mother and walked back to the table. "Yes, Mother," she replied politely as she retook her seat.

"Ranko-chan, you and your children did a wonderful job making breakfast this morning. Thank you very much," Kasumi said, giving the younger girl a cheerful smile as she picked up her tea and took a sip.

Rayne grinned at the compliment. "Ah, it was nothing we can't handle."

"Yeah, like Bubba says, we can do anything if we try," Rei said while stretching.

Ranko beamed. "Well, I may be a failure when it comes to being a man among men, but I sure as hell ain't failin' at bein' a mother."

"Ranko, you are not a failure at anything. I don't ever wish to hear you speak that way, dear," Nodoka chided her daughter.

Ranko sighed while looking at her mother. "Sorry, I just sometimes…well, I guess you're right, Mother. I'll try to steer away from that kinda thinkin'. It's just hard with the way Pops taught me and all. In some ways, I'm surprised I've made it this far."

Rayne looked at the wood of the table. "Uncle Tendo, um, how old is this table?"

"This table, son, is a family heirloom. It's been in the family for five generations," Soun boasted.

Rayne thought about that, noting that the table seemed to have been repaired several times. "Really? That's so cool! Even after being broken over one hundred times, it still stands today."

"Rayne, how do you know that table's been broken a hundred times?" Ranko asked her son quizzically.

Rayne turned slightly towards his mother, taking a breath. "Well, you see right here on the leg is a break, though it's been refurbished using a fine wood glue. If you look closer, you'd notice it's been carefully repaired in several other places too," he explained.

Ranko blinked. "Um, okay. So where'd you learn to spot things like that?" she asked, somewhat startled by her son's knowledge.

Rayne gave his mother a small smile. "Sasuke taught me a little about carpentry," he answered plainly.

**Department store scramble**

As the Saotomes and the Tendos made their way to the local department store in the middle of the Nerima Mall, they began their shopping for clothes and bathing suits.

"Come on, girls, follow me," Nodoka cheerfully called to her daughter and her grandchildren.

Thirty minutes later, Ranko was feeling exhausted. Sitting down, she watched Rayne come out wearing a purple two-piece bathing suit. "Rayne, why don't you grab a green one? Purple doesn't really suit you, hon," she recommended in a motherly tone.

Rei emerged from the changing room wearing a pink one-piece suit with black letters on it that spelled "GIRL," along with a cute kitty cat print. "What do you think, Momma?"

"I- I- Well, I think that, sh- should work, yeah," Ranko replied, trying not to stutter. She was failing miserably thanks to the cat print.

Nodoka looked over the clothing that Ranko had chosen for herself, including a hot-pink bikini with the word "BOY" printed on the bottom in fiery lettering. "My, I didn't know you preferred pink, Ranko, dear."

"Yeah, about that, it was the only one I found that fit me correctly," Ranko said with flushed cheeks. She had actually chosen that one because she rather liked it, but she didn't want her mother to know that.

"Are you sure, honey? This is a bit revealing," Nodoka asked with some concern while looking at the top.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Really. I mean, I'm a grown _woman_ now, not a kid. Right?" Ranko asked with a slight smile. _'Man, it still feels weird to say that aloud,'_ she thought to herself.

Nodoka nodded. "If you say so, dear. I do like the rest of the outfits you picked out, specially this formal kimono. But why forest green?" she querried.

"'Cause it's my favorite color, Mother. Ya see, I like camping in the wilderness and, well, it reminds me of better times. I plan to go camping with my kids soon as all this trouble dies down. I think it'll be good for them," Ranko said with a smile.

They both turned their heads upon hearing a commotion. Setting her sights on ten boys who were all ogling her daughters, Ranko's battle aura began to flare up.

Rei and Rayne stepped back from the boys, who in turn moved in closer.

"Ah, come on, girls. We don't bite! We just wanna talk. I mean, you two look really cute," one of the taller boys called.

Rayne huffed. "I'm a boy! I don't have any interest in other guys!" she exclaimed.

The confused boys stared at Rayne so hard that it caused her to step back further. One of boys stepped forward to examine her. "If you're a cross dresser, you sure have a perfect disguise, but I think you're delusional."

"Me and my older sister don't have time to talk to the likes of you, so please let us get back to shopping!" Rei snapped at them, feeling a little disgusted at how much older the boys were compared to them.

Standing up, Ranko walked over to the crowd of boys. "Excuse me. Is there a problem?"

The boys all turned their heads to see a really hot young woman who looked exactly like the first girl they had talked to, only older. "We were just askin' if they wanted to go get some ice cream, Miss," the oldest boy said.

"I'm their mother, and I say they don't need ice cream right now, so please leave," Ranko stated with false sweetness.

"Yeah, alright. See ya around, lady. Let's go, guys," the boy said as the group quickly made their way back to the main hall of the mall.

**A short time later**

"Damn it, Kyro, I really liked that girl," Ryukyu said.

Kyro shrugged while letting out a sigh. "Look, younger brother, that girl has issues; she thinks she's a boy, for crying out loud! I really think you could do better than that. Plus, she's like eleven or something; you're at least three years older than her."

"You talk to me about that when you've been ogling their mother for the last half an hour? She's probably in her late twenties at least," Ryukyu said flatly.

As Ranko watched her daughters shop, she kept an eye on two of the boys who had stayed behind to loiter after their friends had left.

"Are you okay, dear?" Nodoka asked as she looked to find that her daughter's eyes were focused on two teenage boys.

Ranko broke eye contact with the boys and looked at her mother. "I think my daughters have gained a couple of admirers," she sighed.

"Boys will be boys. You were that age once, honey. Don't let it bother you," Nodoka said with a smile as she led her daughter back over to the changing area to help Rayne and Rei pick out the rest of their wardrobe.

"Rayne, have you finished finding all your female clothes yet?" Ranko queried.

Rayne nodded to her mother. "Yeah, and I got my sizes for my boy half. Want me to start picking outfits for my other side, Mother?"

"Yeah, please do, kiddo. We've gotta make some haste if we expect to go to the water park today," Ranko said cheerfully to her son-turned-daughter.

"I'm all finished, Mom, we just gotta wait for my brother to finish his shopping," Rei said with a smile.

Akane and her sisters made their way over with several bags of clothing. "Are you almost set, Ranko?" Nabiki asked.

"Yeah, just waitin' on Rayne. She has to pick out her male forms outfits, then we can go," Ranko said as she walked over to help her eldest child finish shopping.

"Mom, think we can get some clothes like that ones you were wearing when we left home?" Rayne asked hopefully.

The question caught Ranko somehwat by surprise. "Why would you want somethin' like that, hon?" she asked.

"Well, it looked so cool on you. Plus I figured it's unisex, so when I get splashed people wouldn't notice as much," Rayne explained, looking her mother in the eyes.

Ranko smiled at Rayne. "Tell you what, we'll check out a Chinese import store I used to know and see what we can come up with, okay?"

"Sounds good, Momma," Rayne said as she picked up a black T-shirt that had an American-themed racing logo on it and tossed it to her mother, who draped it over her right arm while trying to hide her rather bored expression.

**Amusement and abduction**

As the day progressed, Ranko and her family had made their way to the local water park that stood a little ways outside Nerima. Rayne and Rei planned to start off at the really tall slides that people rode down on yellow-and-pink tubes. The cheers of the patrons could be heard from where they all stood in a line that seemed to stretch out for hours, especially since they were near the back of the line and had at least one hundred people in front of them.

"This is going to be so much fun, don't you think, Ranko?" Akane chimed in with an overly cheerful tone, attempting to cover up the fact that she had yet to learn how to swim.

Ranko shrugged her shoulders, sighing as she glared at some guys who were ogling her. "Yeah, whatever. I just wish these jerks would quit starin' at me like a piece of meat."

"Dear, I told you that bikini you chose was too revealing," Nodoka said with a slight smirk as she tried to hold in laughter at her daughter's expense.

Ranko perked an eyebrow as she looked at her mother. "You're one to talk, Mom. Look at what _you're_ wearin'! I think it matches mine," _'Hypocrite,' _she thought glumly while shaking her head.

Kodachi sniffed. "Sister, dear, I really hate lines. Don't you?"

"Yeah, with a passion, Ko-chan. Aren't we, like, rich? We could prob'ly skip the line by wavin' some cash or somethin'," Ranko agreed with her sister-in-law.

Laughing hysterically and bearing a strong resemblance to her former self, Kodachi replied, "Yes, I am rich. You, on the other hand, are only rich with your husband's approval. That is, of course, only until we fix that little problem, my dear. Would you like me to get us in the park?"

"Yes, please!" Ranko exclaimed excitedly.

Kodachi grinned as she pulled out a bullhorn from seemingly nowhere. "Everyone, listen up! There are over fifteen million yen for the first person who makes it to the Cat Café and orders one bowl of the house special ramen!" she shouted. After her announcement, the entire line took off in the direction of the Café while leaving Ranko and crew alone at the gates.

"Ko-chan, do you really have that much money waiting with the Amazons?" Ranko asked, looking her sister-in-law in the eye.

Kodachi gave Ranko a sly look while waving her right hand and gesturing to the crowd that had disappeared into the distance. "Good heavens, I hope they won't be too angry when they find out that they have been duped. Why should we pay for the peons to move out of our way?" She replied, letting loose another bout of hysterical laughter as they paid for their tickets and made their way into the park.

With obvious excitement, Rayne and Rei started to tug their mother towards a ride with the disconcerting name of "The Tea Waltz."

"You guys really wanna ride this?" Ranko asked skeptically.

"Yeah, Mom, this'll be fun!" Rayne exclaimed, jumping up and down as she up looked at her mother. She was in sharp contrast to Rei, who stood on the other side of her mother and simply waited in line quietly.

Looking at the ride that would soon be her doom, Ranko thought to herself, _'Wow, who woulda thought of giant teacups and water jets?'_

"Are you guys absolutely sure 'bout this? We're gonna be soaked before we get off of that thing," Ranko asked with some trepidation.

"Oh Momma, quit being so whiny!" Rei cutely exclaimed to her mother with a giggle, giving her a joyous smile.

Once they made their way onto the ride, they walked around six of the ten giant teacups and took a seat. Ranko locked the safety belt around them and made sure it was tight. As they waited, they listened to weird techno music for a few minutes before the operator got the ride spinning.

Five minutes later, the chattering of teeth could be heard as Ranko and her children exited the ride, water dripping from their hair and bodies. "That was exciting, wasn't it, kids?" Ranko asked through clattering teeth. _'So cold,' _she thought to herself as the afternoon heat warmed their skin while the water cooled them back down.

"That was awesome! Can we ride that one, Momma?" Rayne asked her mother while pointing to a rather tall looking tube slide.

Ranko thought about the ride which was named "Ganja's Revenge." "Okay, sure. Why not?" _'Why did they name it after an herb?' _she wondered as they made their way over towards the ride. As each one of them took a tube, Ranko stopped briefly to make sure that her children had the right size and hadn't accidentally taken an adult-sized tube instead of a children's.

Elsewhere, Ryoga sat down next to Akane on a bench where she was resting and handed her some chili fries. "Figured you might be hungry," he said warmly.

"Thank you, Ryoga, that's so kind of you," Akane said in amazement as she took a quick glance in the direction that Ranko and the girls kids had gone.

Ryoga hesitated a moment before asking, "Something wrong, Akane? I noticed you've seemed a little troubled since she came back home."

"How did you know?" Akane asked in surprise.

Ryoga looked to the side for a moment to consider his words. "I've been around you for the last, what is it, thirteen years? I can tell when you're bothered by something. You're like a sister to me. Whereas Ranko is a mystery to me these days, you're almost an open book. I'm definitely glad you stopped drinking, but should you really trade one problem for another?"

"I just…feel so conflicted, you know? I waited for her to come home while drinking most of my life away and doing nothing with it. Now she's back, and I wanna do things again, but I find that I'm still sort of bothered by the fact that she's permanently a girl. I've been trying to ignore that feeling, but it's hard. Though she's Ranma, she's…" Akane trailed off, having run out of words to describe her feelings.

Ryoga contemplated her words. "Well, you really need to figure out what you want, Akane. I know you love her, no one can say you don't, but only you can decide if you're prepared to pursue a relationship with her. Personally, I'd find it unfathomable to be with another guy."

"What about Ranko, would you date her?" Akane asked.

Ryoga chuckled. "Well, we've been friends for a long time now, and I do still remember the koi rod thing. So…I guess the answer to your question is yes. Yes, I would."

"But she was a guy. Wouldn't you be going back on what what you just said?" Akane asked, not entirely pleased by Ryoga's admission.

Ryoga laughed a little while scratching the back of his head. "Akane, Ranma or Ranko, whatever she's gonna call herself, is just that: a she. These days it doesn't matter what she was; it's who she is now that counts. Not that I really think she'd ever willingly date a guy. But the thing you have to ask yourself is whether you're okay with a relationship with another woman. If not, then I think you know what you should do."

"But Ranko is really a man," Akane protested.

Ryoga shook his head while looking Akane in the eye. "I am a man and I can't bear children. She has two of them, whether she wanted them or not. Ranko has definitely seen the gift of life that no man will ever know. Childbirth is most obviously the privilege of a woman. Stop lying to yourself and be honest with your feelings, Akane, for both your sakes."

"Do you think it's wrong for me and her to stay together?"

Ryoga took a bite of the chili fries and swallowed. "It doesn't matter what I think, Akane. That's for you to decide for yourself. I can't answer that for you."

"But if I can't make it work, Auntie Saotome will hate me, along with the rest of my family," Akane lamented, feeling helpless.

Nodoka, who was just walking up, caught the conversation at its conclusion. "Why would I hate you or your family?" she asked, confused.

Akane turned sharply towards the older woman who had just sat down next to her. "Oh, um…I was just talking to Ryoga about my relationship with Ranko."

"You're considering leaving my daughter, then?" Nodoka asked in a calm tone that held no hostility but instead sounded rather motherly.

Akane felt her heart wrench a little. "I loved Ranma, he saved my life several times and I did what I could to help him in return. But now that he's a she, it's just…harder. Love shouldn't be this way, should it?"

"Akane, Akane. Sweet child, do what you feel is right. I believe Ranko will be better for it no matter what you decide. If you choose not to walk through life with Ranko, then, yes, she will be disheartened. But she will not stop living. She has two children who make her feel needed and she loves them greatly," Nodoka said in a kind voice as both Rayne and Rei took seats on either side of their grandmother.

Ranko set their drinks down without looking at Akane. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she announced flatly before walking away.

'_Oh Kami-sama, please tell me that she didn't hear that!' _Akane thought as she stood up to follow her fiancée to a nearby restroom. The ladies' room had green-tiled walls and gray cement flooring. The ceiling was painted black, as were the doors to the stalls. Akane walked into the restroom, fraught with worry, only to hear sobbing coming from one of the stalls. Walking over to the one in question, Akane knocked on the door. "Ranko, open up, please," she called, her voice thick with emotion.

The door unlocked and Akane walked into the stall, shut the door, re-locked it and leaned against the wall while looking at Ranko. "How much of that conversation did you hear?"

"Enough to know you're leavin' me. What, you thought I didn't see it comin'?" Ranko asked through her sniffles.

Sighing, Akane knelt down to look into Ranko's eyes. "Ranko, I haven't decided yet. I realize I shouldn't have jumped into things with you as soon as you came back, but I was just so excited to have you here again that I told myself I was fine with things being this way. The reality of it hadn't really set in yet. I'm truly sorry for that. But do you want me to make my choice now? 'Cause if I do, then yes, I think I'll have to leave you. Right now, I'm not sure how this could work. But if you give me some time, I might be able to figure it out."

Ranko stood up and let out a resigned sigh as she unlocked the stall door. "Goodbye, Akane. I hope you find someone that will make you happy," she stated in a quiet voice. With those words she started out the door but was stopped by Akane when she put her arm out to block her path. "Let me go, please," Ranko protested as she started to shake, tears running down her cheeks.

"Ranko, please try to stop running on emotion for a minute and listen to me. I do love you, more than anyone in the world, but I'm also very confused right now. I'm sorry if I'm questioning our relationship, but would you please let me have time to think about this and not rush it?" Akane asked in a small voice.

Ranko pulled herself free and ran out of the restroom, leaving Akane standing there feeling rather stupid and pathetic. "Damn it. You knew better than to talk about your feelings, but you did it anyway. Of course she was going to hear you, stupid baka," she berated herself.

Meanwhile, Ranko had returned to the park bench where her family was waiting. "Mom, can you, um, watch my kids? I'm goin' home," Ranko asked while trying to mask the pain in her voice.

Nodoka frowned. "I guess, honey. Are you sure you want to go home now?"

Ranko didn't answer as she took off into the crowd, her daughters looking on worriedly.

Kodachi, who had arrived while Ranko and Akane were in the restroom, watched her sister-in-law depart. _'What could have gotten into her?' _she wondered with concern.

As the evening wore on, Ryoga was taking Rayne and Rei for refreshments when Mousse suddenly appeared. Reaching into his voluminous sleeves, the Amazon male hurled a barrage of razor-sharp daggers at the Lost Boy, forcing him to retreat some distance. The number of weapons in the air was so great that Ryoga couldn't dodge all of them, and a couple managed to get through his defenses and nick him slightly.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Mousse…" Ryoga trailed off as he fell to his knees and then slumped to the ground.

With wariness born from personal knowledge of his dangerous opponent, Mousse cautiously watched the Lost Boy slip into unconsciousness from the poison-tipped daggers before he turned his attention to the two cowering children.

"You must be the kids the Old Ghoul was talking about. If you come with me quietly, I won't be forced to hurt you. But it's your choice; I couldn't care less one way or the other," Mouse said as he towered over them menacingly.

Rayne and Rei froze as they watched Ryoga crumple to the ground. When they looked back up they saw a familiar man whom they had encountered on their first day in Nerima. "You touch us and our mother will come! Then you'll be sorry!" Rayne shouted defiantly as Mousse gripped her and Rei's arms roughly.

"Let me go, you're hurting me!" Rei shouted, biting Mousse's hand hard enough to make him wince as he dragged them away.

Witnessing the ambush, Kodachi sprang into action. "Unhand my kin, you scum!" she called out, just as she found herself peppered with sleeping powder in an ironic twist of fate.

Looking for the children to find out why it was taking so long for them to return, Akane stumbled across Ryoga where he had fallen to a heap on the ground. With a couple of rough shakes and hard slaps she tried to wake the slumbering martial artist, to no avail.

"Ryoga, what happened!" she demanded, but silence was her only answer.

**Meanwhile, back home**

As the sounds of flesh smacking on wood sounded out, Ranko pulled off a kick and connected with a target dummy, snapping it from its post. Moving on to a second target, she unleashed dozens of speed punches in a futile attempt to relieve her mind and heart of the pain flowing through her.

"Oh yeah! Leave me, will ya! Just 'cause I'm not the man you fell in love with anymore! Thanks a lot, ya stupid tomboy!" she screamed out as she threw a hard left chop that cracked another training dummy from its wooden post.

As she continued her fast-paced training routine, an arrow whizzed by her head to imbed itself in the wall. Walking over, Ranko noted with disgust that the arrow had a scroll attached to it. "Whoever you are, ya chose a bad time to challenge me," she called out to the sender. As she unrolled the scroll, she fell to her knees in shock, where she shook with both terror and rage.

The message was written on a bear-skin parchment and read, "Dear Son-in-law, if you're reading this that means that your children and I are on a boat to China. If you wish to have them back in your arms, then you are to come alone. If you bring anyone else with you, your children's lives will be forfeit."

The scroll scrunched up into a ball as Ranko closed her fist around it. "Fuck you, ya Ol' Ghoul! I swear I'll rip your heart out if you hurt them!" she shrieked into the night as she raised her arms while performing a perfect **Shishi Höködan **that would have made Ryoga cringe. The debris of the training hall falling down around her like rain, she collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands as great wracking sobs were wrenched from her soul.

**An hour later**

"Ranko, are you home, dear?" Nodoka called out, her voice shaking somewhat.

Akane ran up the stairs to her room, where she found Ranko's pack missing and a note in its place.

"Dear Akane," it read, "I am sorry. I shouldn't have took off like that. Maybe we can work this out when I get home, but for now I have to go to China to get my kids back. Please don't follow me, it will only endanger the lives of my children. Ranko."

"Did you find her, Akane?" Nabiki asked from the hall.

Akane felt a mixture of guilt and fear wrap around her heart. "She's going to China to save her children." _'Oh Kami, this is all my fault,' _she thought while slowly fell to her knees crying.

"What! Is she crazy! She can't take them on by herself!" Nabiki cried, knowing that Ranko wasn't quite up to her A-game yet.

"Oh, the humanity! My dojo! It's been destroyed!" came the cries of the Tendo patriarch, much to the annoyance of the Saotome matriarch.

"Husband, we must go and help her," Nodoka declared as she saw Genma walk into the house sporting a heavy bruise on his left eye. Upon closer inspection, she realized that her husband's eye had been sliced open with blood streaming from the wound. "Oh, good heavens! What happened to you!" she asked in a near shriek as she rushed to her husband's side to comfort him.

"I was on my way back from the zoo that our daughter sent me to see when Shampoo came out of nowhere and slashed me with a sword before I could react," Genma gasped out as he dizzily stumbled to the floor before slowly falling unconscious.

When Ryoga saw the extent of the injury, he quickly moved to the phone to call an ambulance for Genma. While she waited for the medics, Nodoka ripped the sleeve from her robe and carefully placed it over her husband's injured eye to help slow the bleeding. "Kami-sama, please help us," she prayed aloud.

**Meanwhile – Port of Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan**

As a fuming Ranko stood in line waiting to board a boat to China, she was startled when her phone started ringing. With a huff, she pulled it out and gruffly answered. "This is Ms. Saotome, who is this?" she asked with a growl.

"My dear wife! I've finally reached you!" came an unmistakable voice.

When she realized it was her husband on the phone, she became even angrier. "How the hell did you get my number, Tatchi! You know what, don't answer that. I don't have time for this shit now. Did you sign the divorce papers?" she spat.

Sitting in his office at his Californian estate, Kuno Tatewaki felt a pang in his heart at the cold fury of her words. "Look, my love, why don't you and the children come home? Surely we can work this out?"

"Oh, you wanna 'work this out,' huh! You drug me, rape me, and then as a topper, ya go and add child abuse to the list. What kind of sicko are you, Tatchi? I mean, really!" Ranko shouted into the phone with such fury that it caused several people to look her way as a red aura formed around her and the wood of the dock began to smoke from the heat of her wrath.

Tatewaki sighed. "Beloved, I was only doing what was best for you. Saotome had you under a spell and I couldn't wake you from it any other way. After all, our love runs deep despite his treachery," he arrogantly proclaimed, his denial still firmly in place.

"Hell no, Tatchi! Don't you dare 'honey' me, you asshole! You knew I was Ranma and you friggin' used me against my will. First ya forcibly married me and then ya knocked me up without my consent. I don't fuckin' appreciate that one bit!" Ranko screamed loud enough to cause Tatewaki to take his ear away from the receiver.

Tatewaki felt his temper flare. "You listen here, I did what was best for us! We have two lovely children together and we are quite wealthy. Just come back home and all will be forgiven."

"You say that like we were ever in love, Tatchi. Dammit, I feel so robbed by you, I can't even tell ya. I didn't even get to enjoy what shoulda been the most wonderful experience in my life, even though I sure woulda preferred to be tha father. I can't forgive you for any of that shit. Now I'm hangin' up, so don't call back 'cause the phone'll be off. I gotta go save our kids, since they're the only ones who truly care for me…unlike _you_, who claims to be my loving husband. Fuckin' idiot," Ranko snarled as she hastily ended the call, shutting off the phone and placing it back in her pocket while trying to calm her furious temper. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to tear some foolish bastard limb from limb.

Tatewaki growled upon hearing the phone's dial tone, angrily tossing the receiver at the wall with enough force to shatter it as his battle aura surged into a purplish-red glow around him. "Sasuke, you worthless cretin, track that phone's location and ready transport so that I may go fetch my wayward wife myself! It's apparent that I must handle this personally, as you and my other servants are clearly worthless," he bellowed.

"Yes, Master Kuno, right away!" Sasuke called as he pulled out his own cell phone and made some calls in order to follow the GPS tracking signal of Ranko's phone.

**Back at the Tendos'**

"Good news, Akane-san. My contacts have found Ranko and I have made sure the boat will be held at port. If we make haste, we will be able to catch up to her so that she won't be facing this alone," Kodachi said with a smile.

Akane gave Kodachi a look of gratitude as she finished preparing for their journey. Soon, all the available members of the former "Nerima Wrecking Crew" were headed for the docks to unite with Ranko.

**Back at the docks, a few hours later**

Ranko fumed as she wondered why the line wasn't moving. _'Oh, for cryin' out loud! This is ridiculous!' _she thought with disgust as she felt two strong yet soft arms wrap around her. "Akane, I told you not to come," she said in a low, exasperated tone.

"I know that, Ranko, but I've made my choice. I love you and I am going to stand by you. I can't bear the thought of losing you again. Besides, you can't take them alone and you know it. We'll get them back together and we'll come home safely," Akane promised as she kissed Ranko's neck.

Ranko weighed Akane's words. "Are you sure and I mean _absolutely_ sure you wanna be with me? 'Cause I don't want any more pussyfootin' around. You're either with me or you're not," she said sternly.

"I'm yours, Ranko, for as long as you'll have me. I am so sorry for doubting our relationship. I should never have let my fears get the better of me. I do love you and I won't have it any other way," Akane said as she gave her fiancée a squeeze.

Ukyo and Konatsu walked up at that point, smiling at the scene of the two girls embracing.

"Ranko-sama, we need to stick together. After all, they no longer need you. They already have your children, which will provide the tribe with valuable new blood. I'm afraid they simply plan to eliminate you," Konatsu said in a sure tone.

Ranko gave Konatsu a sharp look. "Ya think I'm stupid? I know what they're plannin' and I have no intention of dyin'. There's one factor I'm countin' on to help me get through this."

"What factor are you talking about, Ranko-sama?" Konatsu asked curiously, quirking an eyebrow.

Ryoga stood leaning on his umbrella. "She means Prince Herb, or King Herb as he's now known. He'll come after her soon as she's in China. You can bet on it, as he wants a rematch."

"Yeah, I have an item my 'husband' stole from Herb that's vital to the survival of their tribe, so I figure I can talk him into leadin' an attack on the Amazons while I nab my kids. I really wish you'd all go back home. I got this," Ranko sighed.

"I will not go home, daughter. We are Saotomes; we protect our own," Nodoka stated firmly, her bundle leaning against her shoulder.

Kodachi contributed her hysterical laughter. "You forget that your children are of my blood as well. I will be damned if I let such lowly scum raise them, let alone kill you, Sister, dear!"

"Alright then, but you guys gotta lay low for me until the Amazons are busy. I don't want anything to happen to my children," Ranko announced to her newly-formed rescue party.

* * *

**Notes: This chapter took longer to write, and edit twenty six pages worth lol.**

**Ranko, and Akane have a misunderstanding however save their relationship**.

**Ranko's children have been abducted by the Amazon's, at which Ranko will have to save them with the help of her friends.**

**Reviews are welcome any and all.**

**Well see you next time Ladies, and Gentleman. ~Zeltronica~  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: Well this took a bit between my editing and writing skills and both my beta readers we have made this chapter worthy of your view or so we hope.**

**I wanna thank both my beta readers without them my writing would be very rough at best, you both are vary valuable to me and I am honored to have your help on my projects thank you Brian, and Richard.  
**

* * *

**Coma White Chapter:7**

**NWC sea trip**

On the boat to China the water churned violently, as a storm was brewing. Ranko stood by the railing, rain washing over her. She stared off into the distance as lightning struck the sea. She came to her senses, hearing a voice from behind her.

"Please come out of the rain, dear, before you catch a cold," Nodoka said to her daughter as she took hold of her right arm to lead her inside.

Ranko looked at her mother, slowly following her back to their cabin. They tread carefully, as the wood of the deck was getting slippery under their feet from the rain.

Once inside the cabin, the heat from the room washed over Ranko's skin as she walked over to the corner. Sitting on the hardwood floor, she looked to her father. His head was wrapped, covering up his damaged eye. "You okay, Pops?"

"Could be worse," Genma replied with a grunt, looking at Ranko, who was displaying a gloomy aura of despair.

Ryoga sat by Akane and considering all that had happened. "You should have told us all the moment you thought there was going to be a problem, Ranko," he stated simply.

"I didn't want anyone gettin' hurt so I kept it to myself for the most part…sorry," Ranko said as she slammed her fist into the wood of the floor, causing it to crack from her vented frustration.

Nodoka let out a sigh. "We should have dealt with the Amazons ages ago. We all knew that if Ranko ever reappeared they would continue their pursuit, but we could never know you were coming back with children, honey."

"Well, it doesn't matter now…all I wanna do is get my kids back. I really don't want you guys involved. They're willin' to kill, do you understand that? This ain't just a simple matter of beatin' the Amazons in a duel. This is a fight for blood…any one of us could pay the price, not to mention that none of you have killed before. You should turn back now while you're still safe – an' your hands are clean," Ranko said flatly, slowly letting out a breath.

"Hon, we are fully aware of the risks. We lost you once; we're _not_ doing it again," Akane declared while looking her fiancée directly in the eye.

Ukyo and Konatsu sat cuddled together, taking in the warmth of the room.

"Akane is right, Ranma. You're not going to be able to do this alone, and I for one want my grandchildren back. Besides, I owe Shampoo for this eye of mine," Genma stated firmly.

Kodachi nodded in agreement.

Ryoga nodded his head as well. "And I owe Mousse for those poison daggers of his. He should have killed me when he had the chance…now I'll show him the cost of his mistake," he promised coldly.

**The Amazon village**

The sun peeked through an overcast sky as children ran to and fro, playing or practicing to be warriors like their mothers before them. Several women of the tribe were practicing their warrior arts, while the men of the village tended to the farming and their various other mundane duties. They were not allowed to do much else unless instructed.

"Let me go you, filthy duck!" Rayne yelled as she kicked Mousse in the shin, causing him to lose his grip. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the part-time girl bolted with her sister. However, they soon found themselves corralled by several Amazon women, one of whom picked Rayne up by her shirt while looking her in the eyes.

"You are definitely a fighter like your mother, aren't you, child? Do yourself a favor and simmer down for now. Once your mother is here you may all go home free – depending on the outcome of my daughter's battle with her, that is," the woman stated with a hint of a smirk. She was adorned with tribal beads and furs, and she could almost have passed for Shampoo's twin were she just a little younger. She set Rayne down on her feet and turned to the girls' captor. "Now then, Mu Tsu, take them to the council's hut and do not harm them."

Mousse bowed before the woman, took both of the girls' wrists and led them to the hut in question. "As you wish, Elder," he replied quietly.

Cologne watched as Ranko's children were taken away by the part-time duck. "Sham Su, you do realize what will happen once Ranma comes for them, don't you?"

"Grandmother, I know exactly what will come to pass. Ranma was given the kiss of death by my daughter, but due to learning of the curse we changed our minds, didn't we? Well, the girl is locked, so the original kiss is reinstated. My daughter will perform her sacred duties and restore her honor, dead or alive. That is my final decision on the matter," Sham Su said to her fellow elder who surpassed her in age by many decades.

Cologne eyed her younger counterpart and current tribal leader warily. "You are going to pit your daughter and Ranma in a fight to the death. If Ranma is killed, what is to become of her children?"

"If the girl dies, then we will take the children into our flock and train them in our ways. Some shampoo would help wipe away the memories of their mother's existence," Sham Su said rather bluntly.

"And what will you do if Ranma kills Sham Pu? You can't possibly tell me you will simply accept it."

"If Ranma manages to kill my daughter, then I will be a proud mother who saw her daughter fight honorably to the death. I will then allow this outsider girl to leave with her children. I am simply bringing this shamefully protracted episode to a close. I will not have my daughter's honor and the honor of the tribe dragged through the mud any longer just because some fool Japanese boy ruined Sham Pu's Airen. And might I remind you, we wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't allowed my daughter to lie to the tribe by telling us the female Ranma was dead. You further tarnished my daughter's honor by allowing her to lie about it," Sham Su replied as she shot Cologne a sharp glare.

Cologne didn't flinch at the glare as she simply said, "I fear you are making a rather big mistake in this matter. There are other factors to consider…Ranma carries extra baggage such as Herb, who has been waiting for her return for quite a while. She apparently has the ladle with her; don't you worry she may use it to convince the Musk to attack us?"

"King Herb knows better than to go to war with us. It would leave both our peoples vulnerable to the Communist forces who threaten to intervene in our way of life," Sham Su explained with certainty.

**The children**

Rayne glared at Shampoo, who walked into the hut with a tray of food and drinks. "You two must be too too famished. Here, eat this," she said as she set the tray down in front of the two angry siblings.

"Shampoo, why let your mother do this? We could run away together and be happy," Mousse said to a plant in the corner.

Rei cocked her head, watching the strange man who was speaking to a houseplant in a language she didn't understand. "Your friend is crazy, he talks to plants," she said to the purple-haired Amazon.

"Aiya! He does talk to plant. He no very smart," Shampoo answered the young white-haired girl softly before speaking in Mandarin to Mousse. "I will not run anywhere with you, stupid Mousse! I will do as my mother wishes of me."

Placing his glasses on properly, Mousse looked to Shampoo. "This is suicide! You can't beat Ranma and you know it."

"Suicide? Maybe, but I made a mistake long ago and it is high time I make amends for it one way or another. If I can't have my Airen, then so be it. I do not wish to have this conversation with you again, Mousse. You were a childhood friend to me, nothing more. Get it through your thick skull…we were never meant to be," Shampoo replied, giving Mousse a soft look he missed.

Noting their captors' distraction, Rayne picked up a cup of water from the tray and tossed it onto Shampoo, turning her into a cat. She then quickly tossed the other cup of water onto Mousse, turning him into duck form. "Let's go, Sis!" she cried.

"Alright, Bubba, let's go!" Rei shouted as she rose to her feet with Rayne. The girls bolted out the door, running around the side of the hut as dust kicked up under their heels. They stopped as they saw one of the gates, most likely the rear entrance to the village. Guarding the gate were two burly female guards carrying frighteningly large broadswords on their backs.

"How are we going to get past them, bubba?" Rei asked while panting for breath.

Rayne looked at her younger sister while trying to think of something. _'Ugh, what would Mom do?' _she asked herself while wracking her brain to formulate a plan, knowing full well the cat and duck would soon alert the other Amazons of their escape.

Shampoo growled in her cat form as she tipped the soup she'd brought for the sisters onto herself, returning to normal. Getting redressed, she stepped out of the hut, all the while ignoring the indignant quacks of Mousse. Turning her head to the left she sniffed the air, catching the smell of Rei's lavender-scented conditioner. Walking around the hut she found the two frightened children, who didn't notice her behind them. Shaking her head, she placed a hand gently on both their shoulders, causing them instantly to tense up. "Come back to hut with me; there no need for this. No one will harm you, I promise," she said in a calm, soothing tone.

Rayne looked over her shoulder at the cat-woman. "Why can't you just let us go home? We didn't do anything to you, and our mother didn't do anything to you either!" she half-shouted while being led back to the hut with her younger sister.

"Yeah, Momma did nothing to you at all!" Rei exclaimed as she was pulled along by Shampoo, who had a soft but firm grip on her arm.

Shampoo let out a depressed sigh. "Your mother and Shampoo have unfinished business from before you were born." _'If only I hadn't been so quick to give the Kiss of Death, and then the Kiss of Marriage! What a fool I am. If I should win, these children will have suffered a great, irreplaceable loss…all because of my foolishness and mother's stubbornness,' _she thought bitterly, knowing her own pride had brought them to their current situation.

**Elsewhere in China, just three hours away from the Jusenkyo valley**

Ranko walked ahead of her group as she kept an eye out for Herb or any of his patrols, and for any Amazon scouts that may have been shadowing their movements since their arrival. The wind was quite fierce as it blew her red and blue hair back, causing it to whip around. Dust swirled around them, leaving some members of the party to coughing to keep their airways free.

"Well, we're certainly bein' trailed," Ranko noted as she spotted a Amazon scout sitting not far off in a tree, unaware she had been discovered.

Akane observed the scout and asked quietly, "How many do you think, Ranko?"

"More than just that one. There are two more behind us pretending to be fishing at the riverbed," Ryoga answered for Ranko, as he had also spotted their trailing stalkers.

Nodoka and her husband trailed behind their daughter but keeping quiet throughout the trip.

"Ranko, I personally think you should think this through a bit more before we get there. Cologne isn't an easy opponent, you know," Happosai said from Genma's shoulders, where he sat perched.

Ranko gave the ancient master a thin smile. "You ain't an easy opponent either, Gramps, but that didn't stop me from fightin' ya, did it?"

"You only win flaunting your goods to me or throwing ladies' underwear my way! Without that, I would've had you modeling silky darlings for me on a regular basis long ago, now wouldn't I, Ranko, my girl?" Happosai said with a lecherous laugh.

Ranko grumbled a protest, knowing that his words may have possibly held a kernel of truth. Setting aside all such methods of distraction, she wasn't completely certain she could defeat him. Cologne would surely prove at least as great a challenge.

"Sister, dear, this country is rather beautiful, don't you agree?" Kodachi asked her sister-in-law.

"Yeah, it's peachy, Ko-chan," Ranko answered softly, not truly in the right frame of mind to pay the landscape any heed.

Ranko and her companions made their way up a dirt path, the Amazon scouts following some distance behind. The party came to a stop as a group of riders approached from the opposite direction, dust kicking up in their wake. As the riders drew nearer, Ranko made out Herb on the lead horse with his two retainers, Lime and Mint, on either side of their master/sometimes mistress. Behind them rode ten of the Musk king's honor guard.

Thunder could be heard in the distance as Ranko stood firm, watching Herb and his entourage come to a halt only a couple of meters away. "Well, Herb, how are ya?" she asked.

Herb stepped down from his mount, eying the blue-and-red-haired young woman for a moment before finally fitting a name to the face. "I am well enough, though you, Ranma, are quite late for our rematch. I sent you the challenge a decade ago; you were to come and face me after your marriage. Do you seek to mock me by only arriving now?"

"I really was meanin' to come give you that rematch, Herb…but unfortunately, some people had other plans. For the last ten years I haven't had the chance to make my own decisions. Sorry," Ranko said plainly. Pondering a moment, she then asked, "If you were so concerned why didn't ya come ta Japan ta find out why I never showed?"

Herb chuckled at Ranko briefly. "Ranma, I have an empire to run. I can't take time off to find out why a mere human doesn't show up for a challenge. I assumed you had simply scurried off with your tail between your legs. Though since you are here now, perhaps you would like some hot water so we may have a proper fight, man to man?"

Ranko stood with one hand on her right hip, pushing her hair out of her eyes with the other. "Jeez, I'd love to do that if I could. Sadly, a certain artifact insured that'll never happen…though I'd be happy to fight you as is. Besides, we did it that way before, remember?"

"This certain item wouldn't happen to be my people's artifact, would it?" Herb questioned.

Ranko shrugged her shoulders, taking a breath before speaking. "It might be…an' if it is, I can tell ya who stole it. You want 'em both? Y'know, a 'you scratch my back an' I scratch yours' kinda thing?" she offered with a smirk..

"What would…'scratching your back' entail, Saotome?" the Musk king asked with a hint of bemusement.

Ranko stretched, giving Herb her patented bored expression. "The Amazons have my kids. Maybe you help me get 'em back an' I get you the item, along with the thief. Whaddaya say?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I have no need for war with the Amazons at this time, Saotome. I have a counterproposal: you give me the item and deliver to me the culprit at a later date, and I let you and your party go unmolested. As you can see, I am not alone…you cannot hope to protect them all," Herb replied, giving Ranko a cold, superior smirk of his own.

Ranko's jaw dropped slightly, as she was left momentarily stunned by the dragon king's "offer." "But…I-"

"There is no room for conflict between the tribes of this region, Saotome. This is a time for diplomacy, as we must present a united front against the ever-growing threat from Beijing. Furthermore, you have already defied me by not appearing to accept my challenge ten years ago. Now I find you here with my people's prized artifact in your possession…it is only because I believe you were not the one who stole it that I don't have you all killed right here and now. So hand it over and then you can be on your way. Once you deal with the Amazons, come see me for our rematch."

Ranko sighed, feeling utterly defeated. She reached into her pack, pulling out the ladle and pail and handing them over.

"Very wise thinking, indeed. After you have addressed this Amazon problem of yours, bring the thief to me. Until then, I will hold your mother as collateral," Herb declared, signaling to Lime while he reclaimed the artifact.

"Unhand me, you filthy mongrel!" Nodoka cried as she tried to wrench her wrist out of Lime's grasp.

Ranko turned in shock as Lime grabbed her mother, dragging the woman to one of the Musk's horses and binding her hands. "Herb, you harm her, and so help me, I'll slaughter every last one of you," she swore, her tone darker than anyone present had ever heard it.

Herb brushed aside her threat with a wave of his hand. "Calm yourself, _girl_. You have my word she will be treated well. I look forward to your return. We shall have our rematch then," he promised as he got up on his mount.

A low, enraged growl emanated from Genma. "No-chan! Let my wife go, you bastards!" he bellowed. As he started to lunge forward, Ranko placed her arm against his chest, blocking his path.

"Let it go, Pops…this ain't tha time," Ranko sighed.

Herb chuckled at Genma. "Listen to your daughter; she knows best in this situation. I'll be waiting for you, Ranma!" he shouted as he rode off with his entourage towards the south, Nodoka in tow. Thunder crackled over the mountains, signaling a storm was on its way.

**Rain camp, fifteen kilometers closer…**

Ranma sat in a large canopy tent with Akane at her side and Ryoga sitting opposite them with the heating unit they were using sitting between them. Genma was lying down asleep while Ukyo and Konatsu cuddled together for a nap. Kodachi slept quietly behind Ranko and Akane, while Happosai sat by the open entrance of the tent, smoking his pipe in deep contemplation.

"So what now, Ranko? What are we going to do once the rain is gone?" Ryoga asked as thunder boomed overhead and lighting flashes could be seen through the tent flaps.

Ranko looked at her friend as she leaned against Akane, who was hugging her. "I've been thinkin' for the last few kilometers now, an' I'm convinced we should create a diversion," she explained, pausing for a breath before she continued. "You, Akane and Pops'll get the Amazon scouts' attention, raising' the alarm…then ya make a break for it, leadin' their war party on a chase – say, as far as Jusenkyo if ya want. Konatsu, Ukyo an' Kodachi will sneak into the village, hopefully causin' some mayhem on the inside…an' I'll move in, grab the kids and go. It's pretty simple, though…"

"Though what, Ranko?" Akane asked from her fiancée's side.

Ranko let out a sigh, looking into Akane's worried eyes. "Well, it prob'ly won't end up bein' that easy. I'll bet Cologne's guardin' my kids, along with all of the elder council…I'm not sure if we can take 'em all even if we went in one big group."

"How 'bout this, Ranko…Akane and Kodachi go with you, and you let me, your dad and Happosai lead them on a chase. I don't get lost so easily anymore, so I can shake them and then come help you out," Ryoga said confidently.

Happosai broke from his contemplation. "Good idea, Ryoga, m'boy! We'll give those Amazons a panty raid the likes of which they haven't seen in two hundred years!" he cackled.

"What! I didn't say we'd steal underwear!" Ryoga shouted, his face turning red.

Ranko grinned. "For once, Gramps has the right idea. A panty raid would definitely do the trick, don'tcha think, Akane?"

"I- I- uh, sure…yeah, I guess," Akane whispered, her cheeks flushing.

Ukyo opened one eye for a moment. "I guess we all get to be perverts for one day, huh?" she murmured before closing her eye and going back to sleep.

"Do Amazons even wear panties?" Ranko asked, cocking an eyebrow. She'd never thought of it before – or at least she didn't think she had. She didn't have all of her memories back, but she felt fairly certain she would have remembered _that_ piece of information.

Happosai looked to Ranko with a lecherous smirk. "Of course they do, my girl! Why, we'll have a panty raid that Kami-sama himself would be proud of!"

"I just bet we will, Gramps. I hope you brought your firecrackers, 'cause I wanna throw a huge goin' away party while we make our escape with my kids," Ranko said with a grin.

Knowing they would be headed for the Amazon village in just a few hours, Akane reached into her pack and made sure she had her flasks of vodka and sake handy. Looking over her fiancée's shoulder, Ranma noted the flasks with some concern. "Akane, I thought you quit drinkin' when I got home?"

Akane looked to Ranko in embarrassment. "Well…I did, but I think I'll need my drunken fu techniques if I'm to be a match for these Amazons," Akane said sheepishly as she popped the cap on a flask and took a swig.

Ranko sat startled a moment, mouth agape. "You know drunken kung fu? When did you learn that?"

Akane sighed. "Not long after I started drinking, I ran into a martial arts master. I complained about my troubles advancing as a martial artist because I had no one to train me. My father wasn't up to it, and you were gone, so he took me into his school and taught me some techniques he felt were suited my style…later I found out he was just a drunken master," she explained with a chuckle. She gave Ranma a kiss, who returned the gesture while trying to ignore the alcohol on her fiancée's breath.

Ranko chuckled a little in response. "Maybe I'll have you teach me someday when my kids are on their own."

"Sorry, Ranko…not a chance. I'm not teaching it to you or anyone else. Once this is over, I'm done with the bottle. Count on it," Akane stated firmly as she finished her first flask, receiving a supportive hug from her fiancée.

**The assault begins**

As the team trudged off to their positions some four hours later, Ranko and a staggering Akane made their way onto a ridge overlooking the Amazon village. Ranma was about to take out the lookout when Akane jumped forward drunkenly, taking the scout's head between her calves. Falling backwards, sending the Amazon back into Ranko's waiting fist. "Good job, Akane," she whispered.

"Ya knooow Ish got thish," Akane slurred with a lopsided grin.

Konatsu and Ukyo made their way into the Amazon encampment, sticking to the shadows. They rigged several of the village storehouses with Happosai's explosives, setting them with extra-long fuses. They split off from one another as a patrol neared them, at which point Ukyo looked to Konatsu. Receiving a nod from her husband, Ukyo leapt out from her hiding place, hitting the unsuspecting Amazon over the head with her battle spatula. Giving it a twirl as she slung it back over her shoulder, the couple sped off to their next target.

"Great-grandmother! Ranma is standing up on the ridge with Violent Girl and Crazy Ribbon Girl! Should we raise the alarm?" Shampoo asked the elder, who was watching the spectacle of Ranko's rescue party. She had known of their impeding arrival some time ago, before they even left their tent.

Cologne chuckled to herself, thumping her staff twice on the ground. "No, Sham Pu, let's let 'Ranko' have some fun…I have no wish to see you dead any more than her. So, we will let this play out for now. Your mother has made a grave mistake as she wishes to pit you against a foe you have no hope of defeating. Let her find out firsthand…mark my words, child: Ranma will challenge your mother rather than fight you. I feel it in my bones. She wants this to be over as much as we," she said with a wry grin, watching Akane's movements from afar. _'So she did master that fool's art, I see. Sadly, it leads to a broken life if not balanced by love…but perhaps she's found such balance, after all?'_

"Understood. Then I will sit and watch along with you, Elder," Shampoo said as she turned her attention in awe to Ryoga, Genma and Happosai, who were leaping over one of the walls to the village. They immediately knocked out two of her best friends, Ling-Ling and Lun-Lun, who were considered highly-skilled warriors of the Joketsuzoku. What really caught her eye, however, was when she saw which buildings they entered. Now the alarms were being sounded and the shouts of angered Amazons could be heard as several of their food stores exploded in a rainbow of colors. "Now do we move in, Great-grandmother?"

Cologne watched the spectacle while also keeping an eye on Ranko, who was still on the ridge. They were now looking directly at one another. "Not yet. She knows we are here, Sham Pu."

"Well, Akane, looks like the Ghoul is watchin' our show," Ranko growled out, glaring at the old woman who waved at her with a cheerful smile.

"Welll…maybe we shhould go play shhome?" Akane replied, almost falling off the ledge before Ranko caught her.

Ranko laughed at Akane's stumble. "Dammit, maybe I shoulda sent you in with Ukyo…then I wouldn't hafta worry 'bout you fallin'," she observed, scooping Akane up momentarily and jumping down to ground level with Kodachi following right behind. Heading for the village, she spied Cologne and Shampoo doing the same. As she set Akane down on her feet, the three of them made their way to the encampment. Not bothering to jump over the thick wall of logs that surrounded the village, Ranko simply slammed her fist through it, causing it to shatter into splinters and dust as they made their entrance.

As Amazon warriors moved in to flank the trio, Ranko pulled out her mother's honor blade and prepared for battle. She channeled her ki into the blade, causing it to glow red as fire. Akane took a drink from her pouch and then, with a flick of a lighter, blew flames out onto one of the Amazons. The warrior's leather battle armor caught fire, causing the poor girl to rip her breast plate off and toss it to the ground. She then leapt at Akane with her poleaxe, missing the bobbing and weaving blue-haired girl and soon finding her pants on fire as well.

"Hot! It's hot!" the Amazon screamed in Mandarin, dropping her axe as she tried to put out the fire that was now burning through the seat of her pants. Dropping and rolling to quell the flames sent her into a nearby pond. Kodachi shot forward to clear the path ahead for Ranko. Meanwhile, Ranko battled four Amazons at once, swiping at them with the ki-charged honor blade. She cut through one of the Amazon's bonbori, and then twirled into a roundhouse. Kicking her in the head, Ranko knocked her out cold, sending her careening into a nearby building. That building exploded shortly thereafter thanks to Konatsu's bomb-planting.

"I can do this all day!" Ranko exclaimed as she formed a ki blade with her left left hand, wielding the honor blade in her right. She charged forward, quickly clashing swords with the other Amazons and achieving yet more knockouts against the warriors.

Ranko surveyed her and Akane's handiwork. "Alright, Akane, let's go get my kids back. So far, no one's dead…I really wanna keep it this way," she said. When Akane didn't answer she turned around to find Cologne and Shampoo, an unconscious Akane in the latter's arms. "Let her go, Ol' Ghoul!"

"You want her back, dearie? Then call your party off. We're going to dance to a new tune now," Cologne said smugly as she pulled a dagger from her cloak, placing it against Akane's neck. _'Please tell me she will buy this. I don't really want to hurt either of them,' _the ancient Amazon thought to herself, as she wished to resolve the matter as painlessly as possible.

Ranko snarled, her rage beginning to boil over as her aura flared out in a deep red that bordered on black. "I wouldn't be here if you didn't take my kids, dammit! You hurt her or anyone else and I'll see your entire village wiped off the planet for good…and I mean everyone!" she threatened.

"Ranma, we both know what you're capable of, but do you really want to live with her blood on your hands? Call them off and we will work this out one way or another," Cologne replied as she pressed the blade against Akane's throat, causing a slight trickle of blood to flow.

Ranko shouted out her frustration before letting her aura drop away. Her ki blade faded to nothing, and the glow from her katana dissipated as well. "Fine, Cologne. Please take the blade away from her neck. You win, okay?"

"Wise of you, child," Cologne said as she removed the knife from Akane's neck. Shampoo placed a cloth against the small wound to ensure it would stop bleeding quickly.

**Captured**

A few minutes later, nearly all of Ranko's rescue party found themselves chained up in the main elders' hut. Except, that is, for Ranko herself, who was surrounded by Amazons with spears to ensure she didn't try anything desperate.

"Happi got away, Great-grandmother. He left several of our warrior unconscious before we could capture him," Shampoo said apologetically before she kicked Ranko in the ribs to vent some of her frustration.

Ranko winced as she looked up at Shampoo. "Love you too, wench," she spat as she quickly threw a punch into Shampoo's gut. The purple-haired young woman doubled over, gasping for breath. Several Amazon spears jabbed Ranko to remind her where she was.

"You foolish boy! Male not supposed to hit Amazon warrior," Shampoo shouted, slapping Ranko. The red-and-blue-haired woman spat out a mouthful of blood in response.

Shaking her head, Sham Su spoke up. "Enough from the both of you! Sham Pu, I don't see a male there, do you? And you can't kick someone and not expect to get hit back. Simmer down, girl," she scolded. The leader of the Joketsuzoku sized Ranko up, crouching down to look Ranko in the eyes. "You want your children back? I want my daughter's honor redeemed and my reputation restored. If we are each to get what we want there is something that must be finished today. A Kiss of Death was given and today it will be fulfilled one way or another. Champions or no, you're both worthless to us until you fulfill your destinies," she said as she reached up and patted Ranko's cheek.

"What kinda mother pits her child to a death match against a foe she can't beat?" Ranko asked, spitting the blood that that pooled in her mouth onto Sham Su's face.

Sham Su simply laughed as she wiped the blood away, belting Ranko hard with the back of her hand. "The kind who takes pride in her children and her tribe. The kind who upholds the laws of her people. Sham Pu isn't my only daughter, and until this matter is finished she's nothing but a disgrace. It's all thanks to you and your infidelity with another male…getting your curse locked! Pitiful. It would have been so much better had you died the day you first arrived here after Jusenkyo. Then we wouldn't be in this position today," she said with a mocking laugh.

"I didn't choose to get locked or have children, but I'm glad I have 'em, 'cause they give me the strength to do what's needed. Thanks to my _fiancée's_ sister, I know of your laws now…an' I'll uphold one that's written in cases like this where a cursed one's life's in peril because of a misunderstandin' of the tribe's laws. I challenge you to a battle to the death!" Ranko shouted, giving Sham Su a glare.

Sham Su and most of the other Amazons present were taken aback.

Cologne was one who was not surprised by Ranko's declaration. "Ranma, you do realize that simply winning this duel of yours will not end things. You need to think this over a moment," she warned.

Ranko let out a low growl. "I don't care what this does, dammit! I've already made up my mind. Ya wanna kill a snake, ya gotta take its head. I killed once before…killin' a tyrant like her won't be any different!"

"Very well, then. I accept your challenge. You will be allowed an hour with your children until our match. It will be your last moments with them ever," Sham Su cackled as she left the hut.

Ranko glared at Sham Su's back, giving her the type cold, determined look she had only worn when she fought Saffron.

"Foolish child…there will be many consequences of your decision – if you make it out alive, that is. I hope you're ready, because your life will not be the same," Cologne stated, shaking her head at her old apprentice.

Ranko said nothing and just sat fuming as Cologne and most of the other Amazons left. Shampoo stood watch by the door as Rayne and Rei were let into the hut, running over to their mother. As they tackled her, Ranko returned their loving embrace.

"Momma!" Rei cried as she hugged her mother, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rayne tried to smile through her own tears. "I thought we would never see you again, Mom. They plan to make us Amazons…they said you'll be d- dead soon."

Ranko sighed, bittersweet feelings washing over her. "They won't take me away from you two. After this, I promise we'll go home together."

One of the Amazons tossed the Saotome honor blade down next to Ranko. "I figure this is your weapon of choice. Our leader surely will use one of her own. I hope you win," she said, giving Ranko a nod as she started to leave, only to be stopped by the blue-and-red-haired woman's voice.

"Why do you want me to win?" Ranko asked the green-haired Amazon.

The woman turned to Ranko, the feathers in her hair swaying about and the light of the fire gleaming off her sword. "I too was a victim of Jusenkyo. I was forced to marry and was virtually a slave for many years under Lady Sham Su's rule. Even with my curse I was treated as dirt, until my wife was killed by King Herb and his Musk. I then became a warrior in order to avenge her death. If it weren't for getting splashed by the locking ladle, I would still be a slave today. I feel you will change all that soon. My name is Kalaina-ye, I am one of Lady Sham Su's battle maidens. Call me if you need me after your battle," she said with a bow before leaving Ranko to spend time with her children.

Akane slept soundly while Ryoga struggled to break the chains. "Ranko! Little help here?"

"Ryoga, an escape's outta the question. So let's just chill. I'd like these moments with my kids…'cause soon I'll hafta do somethin' I swore never to do again," Ranko said to her friend as he tried in vain to break free.

"You better win this, _Ranko_, if you're even half the martial artist I trained you to be. Otherwise you'll prove that I was right and you're just too weak," Genma taunted, knowing it would provoke his daughter into proving him wrong. '_There it is, the fire in her eyes! That's my son! We'll win this yet,' _he thought confidently.

Ranko growled at her father. "I'm a Saotome! I don't lose to anyone! So can it with the 'weak little girl' crap, Pops, or I'll have a practice match now with you…usin' Mom's sword to do it!"

"Uhh, heh. Yeah, of course you'll win this! I have faith in you! Ahh...heheh," Genma replied with embarrassed chagrin as he cringed away from his angry daughter while warily observing the Saotome honor blade with his remaining eye.

**One hour later**

Ranko made her way out of the hut with the katana held in her right hand and leaning against her shoulder. Her children walked closely behind her with Cologne bouncing beside Ranko on her staff.

Akane, Ryoga and Genma, along with Kodachi, Konatsu and Ukyo, all stood off to the side in a long cage to ensure they didn't interfere with the match that was about to decide all their fates.

"Ranko, you do know that if you win you will have more than just your children to worry about, yes?" Cologne asked.

Ranko didn't look at the tiny, shriveled woman. "I already said I don't care, as long as it means I can get out from under the tribe's damned kiss laws."

"I will remind you of this conversation if you should make it out alive, child," Cologne noted, continuing her pogo.

Ranko nodded as she stopped and knelt down. "Rei, here…tie my hair back how I told you."

"Okay, Momma," Rei answered as she took the black hair tie her mother had handed her and began to tie Ranko's hair back into her classic pigtail. "There you go."

"Good luck, Mom," Rayne said as she watched Rei finish fixing her mother's pigtail in place.

"Thanks, kiddo. You two bein' here gives me all the edge I need," Ranko said warmly as she stood up and proceeded towards the challenge ring. Her children were ushered off to Kalaina-ye who would chaperone them until the battle was over. "I love you," she whispered to them when they were out of earshot, her composure slipping for just a moment before she regained control of her emotions.

Ranko sighed as she stepped into the arena. _'I just wish they didn't have to watch this…they're so young, they don't need to see what's gonna happen here.' _"Granny, can you please move my kids away from here? I don't want 'em to see blood bein' spilt, please." _'Especially if it turns out to be mine….'_

"Very well, Ranma. I will have them taken back to their lodging," Cologne replied as she went over to the battle maiden, telling her to take the children back to the village proper.

After hearing the stone gates close behind her, Ranko leapt up onto the challenge log that had a fire burning beneath it. Smoke wafted into the air around her as she waited for her opponent to enter the ring from the other side. "Guess they take this death match stuff seriously," Ranma said to herself as she made note of several one-foot spikes jutting up from the ground. There were also several bamboo poles stuck around the ring much like at Jusenkyo.

Thunder rumbled and rain started to pour down upon the arena. As Sham Su made her entrance, lighting struck one of the stone pillars, causing it to crack. Ranko readied her honor blade, channeling her ki into the sword once again. It coursed with blue and red energy with bursts of electricity arcing off of it. Her aura burned with a fiery red heat as she prepared for battle. As she prepared, she readied herself for a possible surprise attack by the tribal leader, whom she considered a self-righteous dictator unworthy of breathing the same air as her or her children. The wind picked up, causing both women's hair to fly as the readied their stances.

Sham Su pulled out a duel-ended, curved sword, giving Ranko a smug, self-assured grin. "Prepare yourself, girl, for this is the last day of your weak, pathetic life."

"Yeah, same to you! Why don'tcha pray to whatever kami you believe in, 'cause I'm about to send you to them!" Ranko taunted as thunder boomed and the rain picked up.

**Not far away on a cliff overlooking the arena below**

Herb, in male form, held an umbrella over both himself and Nodoka. "Woman, you are about to witness the true birth of a queen on this day…Lime, prepare the council at once. There will be need for diplomacy soon, I feel."

"Yes, Master!" Lime called, quickly mounting up and heading back to the heart of the Musk tribe.

Nodoka stared down at the two women that were now poised to strike at one another. _'My child a queen…of what? The Amazons? Yes, that is what this man just said, isn't it? Good luck, my child. By the kami, I know you can win this,' _she thought as she clenched her tied fists tightly and prayed for her daughter's victory.

**Back to the arena…**

Ranko and Sham Su charged one another, clashing blades. Lightning flashed as steel met steel, as if in time with the battle. Ranko lashed out with her left fist, catching Sham Su in the cheek and sending her off the log. Righting herself, Sham Su managed to land on top of one of the bamboo poles and avoid getting impaled.

Ranko grinned at her opponent, holding her honor blade to the side with a smug look. "Why don'tcha fall an' save us the trouble of draggin' this out, huh?"

"I would hardly call this 'trouble.' You're more pathetic than I realized if you think I would be fall so easily," Sham Su taunted as she began to twirl her blade in front of her, chanting an ancient spell. Soon, a vortex formed in front of her weapon and flew off at Ranko, who immediately blocked it with a ki blast.

Ranko laughed as she watched the dismay on Sham Su's face. "Didn't think I could block that, did ya? Lemme show you somethin' else you didn't know! _Icy blast of the frost tiger_!" she shouted, hurling a cyclone of freezing air from the honor blade as if it were a part of herself. As she did so, Sham Su was left dumbfounded to see Ranko's body momentarily transform to male. Giving a grin, she quickly went back to female and then back to male once again.

"What the hell is this trickery!" Sham Su shouted as she barely ducked the vortex, frost chilling her armor. "You're locked! How did you change!"

Curse-Ranma laughed hysterically. "You're right, she _is_ locked. I'm not. Call this divine intervention…it's time to pay for your trespasses!"

Shampoo stared at her mother as if she'd gone mad. "Great-grandmother, what is Mother talking about? Ranma is still a girl."

Cologne didn't answer as she was using her ki sense in order to see what was truly happening. _'So, the curse fights for Ranma…how interesting. And to think only I and Sham Su can see Ranma's birth form, while everyone else sees the same girl that entered the ring a moment ago.'_

Ranko readied for another attack, the old strength of her male form flowing through her as the manifestation of her curse had given her the power to win this match.

_~You have my blessing. Strike her down in the name of Jusenkyo!~ _Curse-Ranma's voice called to her in a rather sinister tone. It was enraged at the audacity of this particular Amazon, who had for years mistreated and abused Jusenkyo's chosen. For centuries it had watched many a man, woman and beast fall in its springs. Once nothing but the force behind the curses, it thought only of mischief until the day it found Ranma and all his (and then her) glory. The spirit of the curse now had a purpose: to watch over its wayward adopted child and champion, the one who held the heart of an unbroken stallion, the boundless passion of a dragon maiden and perhaps, surprisingly, the gentle grace of a butterfly.

The two adversaries launched themselves at one another, each receiving a bloody gash in the process. Turning to each other, they glared, each with matching cuts on their forearms. Ranko then leapt into the air and used her new found strength to bring her sword down on the challenge log, splitting it in two. Ranko used the blade to stop her fall onto the spikes and watched as the Amazon elder fell, hitting the floor. One of the spikes tore into her arm, causing her to scream as she wrenched herself free. Blood poured down her arm and onto the rain-drenched earth where it mixed with the mud.

Sham Su picked herself up and stared daggers at Ranma's male form, who was smirking at her while perched atop the honor blade that stood splitting a spike down the middle. "I won't be bested by a man, especially not you!" she shouted as she readied her weapon for another offensive. She charged towards, Ranma who continued simply to smirk at her.

Ranko laughed as she leapt up, pulling the honor blade with her from the spike and clashing swords with Sham Su. The rain danced around their blades as they seemed to hover in midair, not hitting the ground for several moments.

Sham Su broke the deadlock as the rain finally hit them and they returned to the ground with a splash. She ducked under Ranko's blade, managing to strike home on the younger woman's leg. The slash left a two-inch wound on Ranko's thigh, causing her to wince in pain. "There, now we both bleed!" the Amazon spat.

Ranko gritted her teeth, trying not to let the intense, burning pain distract her. "That comin' from a woman who's missin' a piece of her cheek, eh?"

Sham Su finally noticed the pain and the blood that dripped down the right side of her face from the small wedge of flesh that had been taken out of her. "You will pay for that!" she screamed.

"Yeah, I just bet I will." Ranko challenged.

Once again, the combatants battled each other in a furious fight for their lives. They leapt into the air, hurling ki blasts at each other that sent both of them rocketing backwards. As if in sync, both quickly righted themselves and jumped from one bamboo pole to the next, clashing swords again. Making one quick stab at her opponent, Ranko then went into a somersault as Sham Su's blade flew just past her head. It sliced into a post not far from Shampoo's head, causing her to swoon from shock at the nearly fatal experience.

Sham Su, who was standing on a bamboo pole in mid-combat stance, placed her hand to her breast. It was then she realized she had been dealt a mortal blow. Making one last leap, she grabbed onto Ranko, who held her firmly. Holding Sham Su up, she jumped to a safe location and laid the tribal leader down. Sham Su blinked away tears and spoke softly. "I never believed…you were as strong as my grandmother had said…now I kn…" she drifted off into eternal sleep, proud to have died honorably by the blade of a warrior greater than she.

Ranko stood facing away from the fallen Amazon, holding her honor blade at her side. "Rest in peace, Sham Su."

The cheers of the Amazons roared loudly as their leader had been felled in combat honorably.

Cologne stood firm as she watched the curse retreat back inside Ranko, leaving her as she was before the match had started, though it was clear the girl was shaken from the act of taking another's life. _'So, she still feels burdened by death, even after Saffron. I thought as much…but now on to more pressing matters.' _"Mu Tsu, go get Ranma and bring her to the main elders' hut. It is time she accepts responsibility for what she has done on this day," she called.

"She isn't going to become the leader, is she? Surely you can…" Mousse trailed off.

Cologne slapped him upside the head with her staff. "Enough. Do as I say and bring Ranma to the council chambers, Mr. Part-time," she scolded, before saying a silent prayer for her departed granddaughter.

Nearby, a violet-haired young woman sat crumpled on the ground with her head in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.

**A few hours later**

"Sham Pu, Elder Ko Lon has asked for your presence. Your mother's council has been disbanded." Ling-Ling informed the older girl.

Shampoo simply nodded in reply. She was grief-stricken from her mother's death, though there was also a pervasive sense of relief as well. For while Sham Su's demise heralded her freedom, it left her feeling hollow inside. She could not ignore the fact that that it was because of her own rash actions that these events came to pass. _'I am so sorry, Mother. I should never have given her the Kiss of Death. Your death is my fault. I promise you, Mother…I will redeem myself, so that we may walk the fields together again one day,' _she thought as she walked towards the elders' lodge. She saw other Amazons appearing worried at what was to become of them as they had no proper leader at the moment, with only Cologne holding things in check until Sham Su's replacement was declared. _'If the Musk were to strike, this would be the day to do it,'_ she concluded, as her people's spirit was in tatters – as was hers.

Ranko turned to the sound of the wooden doors opening, seeing Shampoo step inside the hut. She then turned her attention back to Akane. "Take the kids for a walk, along with the rest of the gang. This isn't a place for them to be right now."

Akane nodded, giving Ranko a quick kiss as she took the two children's hands and led them outside, with Genma, Ryoga, Kodachi, and Ukyo following.

Ranko noted Konatsu had stayed behind. "Go with them, please," she requested.

"I am staying, Ranko-sama. I'm sorry, you don't get any choice in this. I swore to Ukyo I would watch over you," Konatsu explained calmly.

Ranko nodded her head, gesturing to the right-hand corner of the room. "Well, go over there and please don't speak while we discuss this. Okay?" _'Oh boy, wonder what the Ghoul is up to now?' _she wondered.

Cologne watched the doors shut, leaving Kalaina-ye, Shampoo, Mousse, and Ranko, along with Konatsu, left in the room. The elder finally spoke. "Well, let us get down to business, Ranma. Remember how I told you there would be repercussions to your battle?"

"Yeah, could you get to the point?" Ranko asked, as she would much rather be with her children currently.

Cologne smiled, letting off a chuckle. "Yes, you were never one for chit-chat, were you? Well you'd best get used to it. When you challenged my granddaughter Sham Su to a death match, you effectively challenged her for leadership of our tribe. As you have won, you must now lead our people. Between dealing with the affairs of the tribe and taking care of your children, I would say you'll be quite busy. You also must learn our ways and customs, along with our language. Though you are allowed to make changes to some of our laws, most traditions cannot be changed. Otherwise, there would be no foundation upon which the tribe could stand."

"Huh…I, uh…you mean, you're makin' me the tribe's new _leader_!" Ranko stuttered out, her eyes wide as saucers and her pigtail standing on end in a classic look of shock.

Shampoo walked over to Ranko, giving her a soft slap. "Get hold of self! That is what she say. Stand up straight and be proud. This highest honor ever for any outsider sister," she said with a thin smile as she straightened Ranko's posture. In many ways, she loathed the smaller girl, especially after the events of the past few hours. At the same time, however, she still had a firm respect for the red-and-blue-haired woman. For she knew Ranko was by far the most powerful warrior she had ever seen; indeed, in Shampoo's opinion, there was likely no one else who could have bested her mother in a battle to the death.

"Granny, surely there's another way…I can't lead!" Ranko shrieked.

Cologne shook her head at Ranko. "Ranma, for at least the next five years, this isn't optional. You must take up the mantle of leadership until then. I suggest you choose your council carefully. I am assigning both Kalaina-ye and Sham Pu to your honor guard until your government is in place…if you require advice, you may, of course, always talk to me," she said soothingly.

"But…I…what about Akane?" Ranko asked, as she knew outsiders weren't allowed to remain amongst the tribe without status.

Shampoo looked to Ranko, giving her a shrug. "You the leader now. You just give them status as citizen of Amazon tribe, then they come and go as please. As for Too Too Violent Girl, if you still wish her hand, we allow that here…though I rather you had been mine. But you woman now, so I no want. She can have; she pervert girl anyways."

"Akane ain't a pervert," Ranko protested, gritting her teeth while taking a seat on the floor next to the fire.

Shampoo smirked. "To each their own, as you say, my queen?" she replied half-sweetly.

"Forgive me, but may I ask if we can get to work setting up this council? Because I'm hungry," Kalaina-ye said with a smile. She was the acting battle maiden until replaced by Ranko herself, though she hoped Ranko would keep her in her service.

**Later that day**

Ranko let off a sigh as she finally managed to get some time to walk alone, finding a place by a pond. Several stares followed her from different villagers, looking to her as if she were a kami of some kind.

Rayne and Rei ran as fast as they could when they saw that their mother had finally came out of the council's hut. Jumping to either side of her they were finally reunited in giggles of joy.

"It's good to see you both, my loves," Ranko whispered as she cuddled her children to her.

Kodachi walked over to the pond and took a seat near Ranko, looking off to the water. "So we are finally a family again, Sister-in-law?"

"Yeah, I guess so, Ko-chan," Ranko said softly.

Rayne looked to his mother, a boy again as he had finally gotten some hot water from a cook. "So when do we go home, Mom?" he asked, studying the bandage wrapped around his mother's right thigh.

"I…well, not sure. It seems I hafta set up a council for the tribe, plus I gotta place a general in charge in my absence if I'm to go somewhere…which means we may have to return here often if problems come up. Um, how would you feel if we stayed here for a little while?" Ranko asked while looking at her son.

Listening to the conversation, Rei spoke her piece. "If you stay, I stay! I love you, Momma."

"Like Sis says, Mom, if you wish to stay here, then so will we," Rayne answered, hugging his mother tightly.

Ranko gave her children a proud, heartwarming smile. "I love you both too…so very much. Well, we'll need to stick around for a while. See, I made a decision that affects these people and now I hafta step up to the plate, as they say in baseball."

"So. you have to take care of us and them too, Momma?" Rei asked curiously, not fully understanding but trying to be part of the conversation as young children often do.

Ranko smiled at her daughter. "Yes, Momma has a lot of people to care for now…and I have a lot of work to do, honey."

After a few moments, Shampoo approached. "Ranm- uh…sorry, no good at this. But is okay if we hold celebration in honor of my mother?" she asked her new leader.

Ranko looked up to Shampoo, her head slightly downcast. "I'm sorry it came to this, Shampoo. Yes, go ahead…prepare the celebration. Your mother was a powerful warrior and deserves an honorable funeral as the leader of your people," she said as she stood up, beckoning her children to follow her, while Shampoo made her way back to her great-grandmother to get the preparations started. Kalaina-ye, soon falling into step behind Ranko, carried a long, wicked-looking blade on her back. She was prepared to fend off any attack on her new leader.

A few minutes later, Cologne saw Ranko step into the elders' hut, her children at her side. "So, will I be giving a speech or would you like this to be your first act for your people?"

"Um, if you could, Ol'- er, Elder Cologne, I'd appreciate it. I still need some time…I don't like takin' life, and today a great warrior fell 'cause of foolish rules…rules I aim to change if I can," she explained. Thinking a moment, Ranko turned to Shampoo. "Who writes your tribal laws? Nah, it doesn't matter. You'll make this change by talking to them for me, alright? I want that law clarified for all outsiders from here on out. New blood will only be brought willingly into this tribe, not forced. This is my, uh, decree…or whatever they call it," Ranko said sternly.

Shampoo nodded her head. "I will talk to tribunal starting tomorrow for you, My Lady."

Ranko made a disgusted face. "Cut the 'My Lady' crap. I'm Ranko…or Ranma, if ya like. I don't wanna hear you call me anything else," she stated adamantly.

Cologne chuckled. "Sorry, Ranko, but when in public you will hear that quite often. Otherwise it would reflect poorly on you when it comes to our enemies and other outsiders. They would think you were not respected by your people."

"Fine then…I think I'm gonna sit this party out, at least for now. I may come once I put the kids to bed," Ranko said as she bent down to pick Rei up, as she had noticed the girl wanted to be held. Seconds later, she turned her head to the sounds of shouting from an approaching sentry.

"Elder Ko Lon, the Musk have two envoys waiting at the gate; they request entrance. Shall I send them in?" the guard asked. The woman had teal-colored hair and was dressed in leather battle armor the color of jade.

Cologne turned her attention to Ranko. "Let this be your first act…and first test," she said as she left, gesturing for Shampoo to follow her, leaving only Ranko, her children, Kalaina-ye and a rather confused sentry in the room.

"Well, I guess I don't get to rest yet, do I?" Ranko noted softly as she sat Rei down by her older brother and spoke to them both. "I want you two to stay here for now while us grownups deal with this. Then it's off to bed for you, got it?" she instructed, before standing and turning her attention to the guard.

"Don't just stand there, send them in," Ranko said in a flat tone.

The teal-haired woman nodded and headed out the door with a bewildered expression, not understanding why she was taking orders from an outsider. _'What on earth is going on? Did the leadership change while I was guarding the gate?' _she asked herself.

Ranko watched the sentry scurry off and mumbled, "What the hell does Herb want now? First he takes my Mom and now wants somethin' else?" She gripped the hilt of her family katana, which was now in a proper scabbard at her side.

"You never know, it might be good news," Kalaina-ye offered, overhearing her new leader's quiet mutterings. She may not have been able to read Japanese particularly well, but she could speak and understand it better than most people in the village.

Ranko shrugged her shoulders. "Only thing I really wanna do right now is just put my kids to bed," she deadpanned.

"You know what you should do once you find time? Take them swimming or fishing. I bet they would like that," Kalaina-ye suggested.

Ranko quirked an eyebrow at Kalaina-ye's comment. "Eh?"

"It's all we talked about," Rayne called from his spot next to his younger sibling.

Rei smiled at her mother. "Yeah, Kalaina-ye has been taking care of us, along with that cat-lady, since we got here."

"…Huh. Yeah, okay. Of course we can do that. I'm sure we can find time…if not, I'll _make_ time," Ranko reassured them, flinching a bit at the "cat-lady" remark. She turned her attention to the sound of approaching footsteps as the two Musk envoys arrived, the door shutting behind them. The shorter of the two then took a seat by Ranko's children, causing their mother to go rigid. "Can you please move away from my children? I don't like anyone near them. I've already had too much to deal with as it is."

The standing figure chuckled lightly. Ranko recognized that laugh immediately, causing her to look to the figure with surprise. "You know, you really shouldn't speak to your mother that way," a female Herb scolded as she lowered her hood. Her companion then did the same, revealing the auburn hair of Ranko's mother, Nodoka. The Saotome matriarch stayed silent, however, as it was not the time for her to speak.

"What are you up to, Herb? First you take my mother and now you bring her back?" Ranko asked in an irritated and confused manner.

Herb smiled and spoke softly. "Yes, well…I have something you want, and you now have two things I want. One may be out of your reach for now, though I'm sure that will change. In the meantime, I thought that since Sham Su is no longer in charge of Nyucheizu, we might finally be able to work things out in both our favors."

"I ain't gonna marry you, so stow it," Ranko snapped.

Herb laughed hysterically for a moment. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Ranma, but I have no wish to marry you, as…_intriguing_ as that would be. I would much rather have the Musk prisoners your people have been holding, four of whom are my friends. If you will return them to me, I will happily give you your mother. Then, once you bring me the thief who stole my people's artifact, we will have our rematch. If you can meet all of these conditions, I can assure you that you will not see war between us again for a long time to come – if ever," she said sincerely.

"Um…Kalaina-ye?" Ranko asked, as she wasn't aware the Amazons kept prisoners of war.

Kalaina-ye shrugged, unable or unwilling to show much sympathy for Herb and the rest of the Musk tribe. Moreover, though an agreement between Lady Ranko and King (or Queen) Herb would mean relative peace for the tribe, it would also likely leave her oath of vengeance forever unfulfilled. _'Damn it, I never could have seen this coming…peace with the Musk? After what they did to my wife! But…if I buck against this, it could endanger the village – not to mention Ranko's mother…hmm.' _"Yes, we have Musk prisoners that Sham Su put to work in the fields and nurturing facilities," she eventually answered with a heavy sigh.

"What do you mean, 'nurturing facilities'?" Ranko asked, looking Kalaina-ye in the eye.

Herb spoke for the green-haired woman. "She is referring to the cursing of males, turning them into breeding mothers. I cannot deny my people have long done the same, up until the time I took the throne. I put a stop to it, as I have rather _intimate_ experience with the subject. While I don't particularly care for my curse, it has helped me to see more clearly the boundaries of right and wrong."

Kalaina-ye just nodded her head, as she too was one such male-turned-female, much like Ranko and many others.

"Sounds like we're all peas in a pod…huh. Maybe we can work somethin' out, Herb. By the way, why are you in female form anyway?" Ranko asked curiously.

Nodoka finally piped up. "I doused him with cold water when he was talking about how he was going to beat you in your rematch. That quieted her down…plus, I wanted to see what she looked like!" she replied, looking to the sometimes Musk queen with a cheeky smile.

"Your mother has definitely showed me where you get your feisty attitude, Ranma," Herb said with a slight chuckle, as she had actually taken something of a liking to the older woman. She had found Nodoka to be a surprisingly good conversationalist and just a generally fun person to be around in the short time they had known each other.

Ranko looked her mother over a moment, seeing no bruises. "Is it okay if my mom puts the kids to bed?"

"If it would help us get started on matters of diplomacy, then please, by all means," Herb said cheerfully.

Nodoka stood up with the children, pausing so they could each share a hug with and kiss with Ranko, and was then led out the of the lodge by Kalaina-ye towards the guest hut.

Ranko watched them leave before turning her attention to Herb. "Okay…well, let's get our negotiations started, then. Hopefully I don't screw this up."

"I doubt you will. Besides, I truly want my friends back…and if we can achieve that without war, I would be ecstatic. Tensions are rising between my people and the Phoenix tribe. Quite honestly, we don't have the manpower to fight on two fronts," Herb admitted to his friend and rival, having settled their most bitter differences long ago.

As Ranko and Herb were negotiating terms and the Amazons were readying the festivities for Sham Su's funeral, a helicopter traveled closely above the canopy of trees at least five hours from the village.

"Master Kuno, we really should be careful. This is China; if they catch us flying in their airspace, we will surely be in a lot of trouble," Sasuke warned as the pilot continued his low-altitude flight, just barely under the radar. Just one slip and the Chinese authorities would know they were there.

Kuno Tatewaki looked to his manservant. "Let me remind, you insolent cretin, we wouldn't be here if you had brought my wife and children home as I commanded! You have let me down far too many times. This is your last chance; if we fail to recover them safe and sound, you're fired…_among other things_."

**The following day**

Ranko and a now-male Herb both left the guest hut to find Akane, Kodachi, and the gang watching as the Amazons were still celebrating their old leader's honorable battle against Ranko.

Kalaina-ye ran up to Ranko and company. "Ra- _ahem_, My Lady, the scouts say we have intruders on their way. They have come down from the sky in a thing I believe to be called a 'choppa'…they are being led by a man with a fierce-looking katana in an emerald-colored scabbard-" she explained, before she was interrupted by Ranko.

"'Chopper' is what they call them in movies and stuff. The name of that flying machine is 'helicopter' or maybe 'helo,'" Ranko explained in a bored tone and turned her attention to Herb and the others. "Please enjoy the festivities. I'm gonna go deal with our uninvited guests personally," she said as she and Shampoo headed in the direction of the intruders.

Kalaina-ye pondered her mistress's response. _'So that's what it means…though I've never seen the movies she was talking about…or any, for that matter.' _"What _is_ a movie, anyway?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It is a…uh–…" Herb began and then went blank, as he actually wasn't so sure himself. He had heard of the technology of picture screens but had never bothered looking into it, as it seemed irrelevant to his rural, mountain-dwelling people.

"Um…a movie is kind of like a play, where people act like somebody else. They're often having adventures of some type, but you don't watch it performed live in front of you. Instead, you watch it on a big projection screen, or maybe a TV…which is, uh, in your language, a scientific or…magical…viewing device," Akane offered with a chuckle.

"What is 'scientific'?" Kalaina-ye asked, faking ignorance. She knew it was another word for alchemy.

"You know what? Forget it," Akane said with a tight smile. hiding her exasperation.

"Who intruders be, do you suppose?" Shampoo asked, seeing that Ranko already knew.

Ranko turned to Shampoo. "You wanna get revenge on the man who 'ruined' me? Well, now's your chance to unleash that frustration. Tatchi's here, but _don't_ kill him. That's really important, okay? I need him alive," she explained as they continued walking.

"What you have in mind?" Shampoo asked, fighting a dull headache from last night's drinking session with many of her tribal sisters. She could hear the sounds of the funeral celebration still underway behind them and would continue for six days' time.

Ranko smirked at Shampoo. "In America and Japan and maybe yo- I mean, uh, _our_ tribe, they have a thing called 'divorce.' But I've thought of a better idea. I can get his house, his estate and then some if they never find Tatchi again. They'll list him as dead, and Herb will see to it he never shows up again – unless the kids wanna see their father, that is. It's their choice, after all. But we can figure out the details when we bring him back with us, minus his entourage."

Shampoo gained a familiar smirk as she realized what Ranko had in mind. "I see! This will be too too fun. I hope Silly Boy brought Funny Rat-Man with him," she said with a laugh, Ranko joining in just like old times.

**Thirty minutes later**

Tatewaki sat resting, as they had been walking for hours. "Sasuke, how much further?" he asked, winded.

"Not far, Master Kuno. By these coordinates, she should-" Sasuke began. "…Be right over there," he finished in a whisper, pointing at Ranko and Shampoo, who were standing by a large, ancient-looking tree.

Tatewaki whirled his head around, locking eyes with his wife. "Woman, I have come for you," he declared as he stood up.

"I just bet you did, Tatchi…where're the rest of your men?" Ranko asked, placing a hand on her hip. Shampoo stood glaring at the swordsman known (solely to himself) as the "Blue Thunder" back in the days of their youth.

"They stayed with the aircraft to keep it safe," Sasuke answered.

"Thanks, Sas. That makes this a lot easier," Ranko said as she stepped forward towards her husband, clenching her fists.

Sasuke stepped back, not wishing to get involved in his master's and mistress's impending fight.

Tatewaki gave Ranko a look of bewilderment. "You wish to fight me, is that it? Blast, your hold over her heart is strong, Saotome!" he spat.

"'Husband,' are you so deluded that you don't even know your precious wife? It's me, none other than the foul sorcerer Saotome! Your whole 'feignin' ignorance' thing has worn awful thin with me. Now prepare to fight, moron, 'cause I've had enough," Ranko pronounced darkly as she pulled the honor blade and scabbard out from her belt and tossed it to Shampoo, preparing for hand-to-hand combat with the swordsman that was, for the time being, her spouse.

Shampoo stepped back, champing at the bit for her turn at Kuno and giving him a glare full of hateful wrath.

Kuno sighed as he undid the belt that held his katana at his side and handed it to Sasuke. He didn't wish to mar his wife's beauty, though her scorn did cause his heart to ache. "I never wanted this…I love you and always have. I thought I was doing you a favor, as you are delusional," he said softly to his wife.

"I am not delusional, Tatchi! Kamai-sama, you're such a fool. Ya know, I'll admit that maybe some part of me even kinda liked you back then. I mean, you're easy on the eyes…not that I ever woulda said so…an' your idiotic determination was _almost_ charming. Almost. But you ruined any hope you might've had with me by all you did to me and my kids. You robbed me of so many precious moments…I missed seeing my own children grow up, dammit! And to make matters worse, you weren't there for them either! You failed 'em, Tatchi…completely. But I can tell they still love you, at least a little. It's because of our children that I'll allow you to live after this…but the beatin' I'll give ya now will be for the abuse you put Rayne through. What you put me through pales in comparison to the abuse of your own son," Ranko stated in a frigid tone.

Tatewaki winced at the mention of his and his wife's eldest child. "The boy acts like you once were. I…" he began, but couldn't find the words to explain it. He hated himself for the fact that he held contempt for his son's resemblance to Ranko's former male half.

"You tried to lock his curse too! Didn't ya know the ladle would only lock someone in their cursed form?" Ranko asked, stepping closer. She threw a punch that barely missed her husband, who dodged the strike at the last moment.

Tatewaki moved in surprisingly swiftly, grabbing her wrists and struggling with her before jumping away. "I knew what it would do. Though I wanted a son, I would have preferred a child free of the vile Saotome sorcery. But I abandoned my attempts in the end, as I realized it would always serve as yet another reminder of the pain of our marriage. Do you think I really enjoyed sedating you? It hurt more than you could understand."

"Well, you shoulda thought about that before ya started druggin' me, jackass!" Ranko shouted, kicking her leg out. She caught her husband in the stomach, sending him sailing into a tree that splintered from the impact.

Tatewaki stood up slowly, glaring his irate wife. "I admit that I was not in my right mind then. It wasn't for a few years before I finally came to my sense and realized what I was doing. But I had to keep it going for the sake of the children. I didn't want them to learn what I had done to you in the depths of my madness. Now they know…and I realize I can't take it back. I would give anything to make amends, but right now I just wish for us to return home and work all of this out."

Shampoo watched the battle, slightly bored of all the talking. _'Idiot! Why does he think he can wash all this away? If he were to drug me, I would have his head when I came to!' _she thought angrily.

"Tatchi, get it through your thick head right now. We are not going to work this out. Ever. We're through. We were never even really a 'we' in the first place! Understand? Now get to fightin'…or just let yourself get beat on, for all I care. I'm done," Ranko snapped as she leapt forward suddenly. A dust cloud quickly rose up around a classic duel of fists and feet as Tatewaki received the thrashing for which he'd long been destined. Shampoo soon joined in, bringing to the red-, blue-, and raven-colored battle a splash of purple as well.

After a few minutes of pummeling, the dust eventually cleared, revealing the dirty and disheveled but otherwise unscathed forms of Ranko and Shampoo. Tatewaki, on the other hand, was left bloodied and bruised on the ground, bumps, bites and scratch marks covering his body from head to toe..

"Sasuke, you mind carryin' my husband back for us?" Ranko asked, looking to the short, squat ninja who stood quaking in fear.

Sasuke nodded his head. "Yes, mistress! Right away, mistress!"

Ranko and Shampoo casually made their way back, trailing behind Sasuke, who would receive directions every so often from Shampoo.

"So, now let's see how Herb deals with him," Ranko said with a smirk.

Shampoo grinned, in much better spirits now that she'd had the chance to vent some of her frustrations. "Maybe I see another woman running around soon. Maybe I give Kiss to?"

"Absolutely not! You'd hafta spend a week washin' your mouth out with soap after," Ranko replied with a bittersweet laugh, since kisses were how they had all gotten to this point.

Shampoo sighed. "I tell too too tragic joke…I wish I never done this to you that day so long ago. My mother would still be here. It my fault."

"Shampoo, we all make mistakes and hafta live with 'em. Your mother made her choice and fought honorably for her belief in you an' her village. She cared about you an' wanted to save your honor. That's commendable, ya know? I made a mistake by thinkin' with my stomach way back when. I shoulda known the feast was your prize an' either left Pops to his fate or warned him sooner. I'm also guilty of only tryin' to help others a lotta the time if it benefited me in some way. You may wonder about that, but it's true. I did help, but almost always I gained somethin' from helping, one way or another. And I would stupidly never ask for help with my problems…or I'd want it, but I'd still refuse to ask. 'Cause secretly I regretted my actions, but I was too proud to admit it until now," Ranko said to her longtime friend and occasional tormentor and/or temptress. But now all that would change. Now they were practically sisters. And now Ranko had a vital job to do for the tribe.

As the two young woman continued their conversation as they walked back to the village, with Sasuke carrying an unconscious Tatewaki towards the encampment. The sounds of celebration and fireworks could be heard as they got closer. The sun was going down and evening was now fast approaching.

* * *

**Note: Well this story takes a lot of time to put out as we try to perfect it for it's best viewing**.

**Ranko has now got her children but has to lead the tribe as well after her battle with Sham Su, she has also acquired her Husband Tatawaki Kuno where she will soon turn him over to King Herb to decide his fate.**

**Also learned Akane knows drunken Kung-fu thought this would add for an interesting concept, Shampoo is grief stricken at the loss of her mother holding some scorn for Ranko yet a firm respect hopefully they will see eachother in a better light eventually as they work together though out this next chapter of their lives.**

**Please feel free to leave your reviews, and suggestions for the upcoming chapters feel free to add your two yen just remember I may or may not use your idea's as it is my prerogative to decide what is best for my own story.**

**As always much love have a good one all take care. ~Zeltronica~  
**


	8. Beginning of the end

**Author note: ****I am sorry my chapter releases are so long in between. I have been dealing with real life issues inbetween story building, this is a filler chapter which is roughly edited by me, Brian will be working on cleaning it up after my next T.L.O.S.M. Chapter he is working on.**

**We are getting close to the end of a great story, I hope you all will enjoy. -Zeltronica**

**Coma White Chapter:8**

**Unfamiliar surroundings...**

The trip back towards the Amazon village was rather uneventful, Xian pu leading the way, Sasuke behind her dragging his soon to be ex-master via rope, and the soon to be ex-Kuno Matriarch and Amazon Queen bringing up the rear. The trail they followed was an old beaten dirt trail with surrounding forest that seemed to go for miles in a sea of green, here and there was patches of murky water leftover from the last rainstorm, the sun rose a little higher in the sky, the sounds of celebration could be heard from their position.

"Mistress Kuno what will you do with me once we get to where it is we are going?" Sasuke asked, worry evident in his voice, he had to quickly duck as a branch swung out towards him after the lead girl had pushed a branch back letting it go to snap back into it's place.

Ranko shrugged her shoulders continuing her forward motion, while pushing past the branch that was in her path. "I dunno haven't decided on that yet.. get back with me later." she stated in a dead pan.

Xian pu pondered on the man being drug through the dirt. "So is Herb going to administer punishment or will it be us Ran-ma?" she questioned, while pushing past another branch letting it snap back, at which Sasuke had to duck once again.

"Well it's only fair he gets his licks in.. Tatchi stole quite a bit from me abused our children, but he stole the artifact that locked my curse.. and to Herb's people that same artifact is needed for the Musk's continued survival so I believe that they deserve a crack at him." Ranko replied, while once again pushing past ye another branch, turning her attention skyward she took note of a Hawk flying above them it greeted them with it's call as it flew by hunting for prey.

Constantly scanning her surroundings for potential dangers and or challenges, Ranko gripped the scabbard of her honor blade tightly, since she felt as if they were being watched, turning her attention uphill too a ridge that was eight feet above them, not far to the groups right she noted rock that was falling as if someone or something were strolling above it, Xian pu also took note of the falling rock. "Ran-" she started to call only for the red-n-blue hair girl to speak up.

"I know Xian pu just keep goin'." Ranko stated simply, keeping her pace, looking to her left she felt slightly relieved as there was nothing suspicious in that direction, turning her attention back to her right she then broke off from the group, running up the ridge effortlessly, once at the top she took in the sight of four figures that were obviously part of the Phoenix tribe,all dressed in traditional Phoenix armor, she placed her right hand on the hilt of her honor-blade, while at the same time all four phoenix warrior's started to face her brandishing their weapons, she then turned her attention to the snapping of branches that came from behind her noting another figure who was familiar to her to most would consider this woman human however they would be wrong, standing at four foot nine, her hair was a shimmering blue, she also dressed in traditional Phoenix battle armor.

"Well.. well Landling here and I thought I would never have the pleasure of seeing your face again." Kiima in Akane-form stated in a rather dull tone, finally coming to a stop within an arms length of her old foe.

Xian pu and Sasuke came to a stop looking up towards the ridge feeling an all too familiar battle aura that the young huntress was very familiar with. "Ran-ma is everything fine?"

"Yea Xian pu everything's peachy run a'long home now." Ranko called, keeping a watchful eye on the twin to her blue haired lover. _'At least I hope it will be fine.' _she thought warily.

Xian pu pondered a moment, as she could hear a slight agitation in her ex-lovers voice, however an order was an order. "Let's go rat-boy we have lot's of ground to cover."

"Yes mistress." Sasuke called, taking faster strides to keep up with the purple-haired amazon, while dragging his master through the brush.

Kiima look over the ridge noting their retreating forms. "So whats you're business here in China Landling?" she quarried in an all to familiar voice which caused the red-n-blue haired girl to twitch ever so slightly.

"Oh not much really I am just enjoying the scenery is that a crime cap'n?" Ranko asked in a sarcastic manner, shifting her gaze momentarily to the four warrior's who stood on the opposite side of her.

Kiima shook her head in quiet annoyance. "No I don't suppose that is a crime.. Ku-ko-ku On another note do you have any idea the trouble you put me through after you had gone home?" she quarried in a bitter tone.

"So where you headin' if you don't mind me askin'?" Ranko quarried avoiding the Phoenix general's question.

Kiima pondered over the young woman's question for a moment before speaking. "I don't suppose it would hurt to tell you. Ku-Ku-Ko-Ku We are on official business with the Amazon's of Joketsuzoku village."

"Oh that's great maybe I can go with you see I was just heading there myself." Ranko said in an upbeat tone, gesturing with her hand for Kiima and her entourage to lead the way.

The blue haired woman considered the young Japanese woman's words. "You may go with us up until we are in view of the village. Ku-Ku-ko at which point I request you split off from us as someone with your reputation may taint our interview with the Queen." she calmly stated, before gesturing her men to start their forward momentum.

"No problem consider me scarce when we arrive." Ranko called, walking along side the Phoenix General. _'Damn wish she wasn't in that form.' _she thought, stealing a quick glance at the blue haired girl. _'Damn if not for the armor she would almost be authentic.' _she observed.

Kiima gave a sideways glance to the Japanese girl taking in her features. "Landling I could have swore last we met you had red hair in cursed form was I mistaken?" she quarried with a curious brow raised.

"No you wasn't wrong it used to be red.. but my hair color is a very long story and I doubt we have time for me to explain it in detail." Ranko casually said, stepping over a broken branch that laid in her path. A few more miles passed, Ranko split off the group heading for the village via a different route, While Kiima and her group continued up the dirt trail leading into the village.

**A fitting punishment...**

Two fierce Amazon guards stood just outside the Iron door of a medium sized hut that sat to the immediate right of the main council chamber's, the inside of the hut composed of stockade of which now resided one of the rooms two occupants Tatawaki hung loosely from his head and wrists his clothes had been stripped from his person leaving him nude, the floor covered in straw with dried patches of blood could be seen on the wooden floor that were in view, tables sat on either side of the room their contents ancient beakers filled with various liquids and or cutting tools, the rooms lighting was of a hanging torch that hung from the ceiling via a rusty chain, nearby leaning against one wall were several tools all with dried blood on them, the walls littered with cobwebs and or skull's that served as decoration, the rafters also covered in dust and cobwebs, also nearby hanging via his wrists from a chain connected to the ceiling Sasuke of who had been Tatawaki's Loyal retainer.

Approaching the Hut after leaving the council chambers was Ranko at the lead, Herb and Akane at either side of her, Nabiki, along with Xian Pu and Kalaina-ye, Ke Lun, as well as Kodachi. Once the group had arrived the two Amazon's guarding the entrance gave their newfound queen a proper salute before opening the hut up for the group to step inside, of which they all stepped closer to the man in the stockade.

Herb glared fiercely at the gentleman who had stolen his people's most prized artifact, while Nabiki stepped up closer raising her right hand immediately slapping the raven haired gentlemen in the face causing him to wake in fright.

"Wake up Kuno Baby you don't really want to miss this." Nabiki called icily to the groggy and deluded Kendoist.

Tatawaki awoke with a start trying to gain his senses, vision clearing he took in the rooms contents and occupant's horror filled him, brown eye's centering on his wife. "Woman! what is the meaning of this have you gone mad?"

"No Tachi I haven't gone mad.. at least not yet." Ranko responded turning her attention too her current girlfriend. "You wish to give your peace hon?"

Akane shook her head, her gaze settling on the brown-haired man from her youth she neither felt anger nor did she feel sympathy for his plight. _'Do I want to stay for this?' _considering her thoughts. "I think I am going to go see about the children dear if that is okay."

"Yea go ahead Hon." Ranma returned, at which her blue-haired lover quickly left the room, at which point Kodachi stepped up too her brother.

Tatawaki looked up too his sister with slight hope. "Sister please you can't let them do this to your own Brother help me."

"Oh Ho ho Ho. You wish for my help after you nearly caused my company to go bankrupt and close our doors forever.. and after what all you have done to my Nephew and Niece.. and not only what you have done too my sister-in-law.. and nearly caused me to worry on whether I would be living in squalor!.. No I think not you are dead to me Peasant." Kodachi retorted her temper surging forth, as she turned to stand by her sister's side.

Herb continued to wait, while Ke Lun was now standing before the deluded man explaining why he was there, while at the same time using a technique using the needles she retrieved from her robes to correct his delusional mind, Once she was sure it was done she too stepped away from Tatawaki.

Tatawaki after feeling the needles retracted from his skull, looked too his wife with frightened eye's. "What hath you let this decrepit woman do unto me?"

"Well I had her fix things for you Tatawaki see I don't want you having any delusions of your situation." Ranko explained, while turning her attention to the Musk king sometimes Queen.

Herb stepped closer too his friends current spouse. "So this is the insect who has stolen my artifact." he raised his right hand caressing Tatawaki's cheek. "I believe Lime will enjoy this one thoroughly." he said, while retrieving a flask popping it's cap dumping it's contents over the raven haired man's head, at which said man underwent a transformation, now almost an exact replica of Kodachi.

The newly forged girl still locked in the stockade glared coldly at the multi-haired man. "How dare you douse the head of The Blue Thunder!" she shouted immediately realizing the voice of her sister had called out, she gave a glare too her sister.

"Don't look at me I didn't say anything You did." Kodachi called too her former Brother.

Ranko smirked as she gazed at Tatawaki's form. "You know before you do anything else Herb I want to have some fun if you don't mind?"

Tatawaki set her emerald eye's on her wife. "What are you?" she called out, just as hot water splashed over her head causing her now him to sputter.

"Hey Tatchi remember how I always told you me the vile sorcerer were one in the same does this help it make more sense?" Ranko questioned, as Nabiki splashed Tatawaki with cold water transforming him once again into his new cursed form.

Before Tatewaki could answer he had been transformed rapidly back and forth by various splashes of hot and cold water, Herb watched on with amusement, his right hand gripping the ladle of preservation, while in his left held the bucket.

"Stop it!" came the shrill voice of Tatawaki, who's sad emerald eye's settled on her spouse. "Why are you doing this... please just get it over with Ranma kill me if it's what you got in mind I don't care anymore."

Ranko shook her head at her current Spouse. "No sorry can't do that Tatchi our children begged me to spare your life.. though they didn't wish to be here when Uncle Herb here takes you back too his palace I am sure you will get visitation on and off.. that is if they wish to see you at all that is."

Herb with one quick fluid movement splashed the Kodachi doppleganger with the ladle of preservation, of which he turn turned his gaze towards Sasuke. "Is he also apart of that insects thievery?"

"No he's my responsibility I'll take care of him from here on." Ranko replied with a soft sigh, as she was still considering what to do with her ex-husbands retainer. _'He calls me Mistress Kuno and he helped raise my children unlike Tatchi.. maybe I should just have him work for me from here on?'_

Herb and the rest then turned to leave with exception of Kodachi who had stayed, the faint sobbing of Tatewaki could be heard in the background.

"So what will you do with Sasuke Sister-dear?" Kodachi questioned, looking too her former caregiver and man-servant.

Ranko considered her sister's question carefully, remembering what her curse had said along with testimony from her children. "I guess we can cut him a break and have him continue serving the family.. despite having engaged in trying to cause me grief thanks to Tatchi over there I don't really bear any grudge against him, she explained as she undid Sasuke's restraint's pulling him down carefully. "Guard."

One of the two guards at the door stepped inside to find out what her leader wanted. "Yes my lady?"

"Take Sas' here and get him cleaned up and taken to the guest lodging please." Ranko called, of which said guard quickly moved over hoisting Sasuke's unconscious form over her shoulder before taking her leave.

Kodachi considering the fact the marriage between her former brother and her sister-in-law was now ended. "You don't mind if we continue to call one another sister do you?"

"You will always be a sister to me from here on Ko-chan we are family so I don't see why not Sis'." Ranko returned, as she took her sister's hand and both took their leave of Tatawaki's presence, the iron door creaking shut.

After finally separating from Kodachi Ranko joined Herb who stood next too a sign written in Mandarin, the light from the sun dimmed signaling that the day was nearly over and would soon give into night, several Amazon's walked the many paths of the village lighting the torches that served as illumination.

Kalaina-ye walked over from a nearby structure. "My Queen the Phoenix delegates are getting a little restless might I suggest you interview them now?"

"Oh I almost forgot.. sure I'll be right over." Ranko called too her now retreating honor guard, before turning back too her friend. "So guess we will soon be having our rematch."

"Yes so it would seem I am thinking if the weather is right we should hold the match somewhere neutral and out-of-the-way so as to reduce damages." Herb explained, while fiddling with a piece of straw he had picked up earlier from a nearby barn.

Ranko considered her companions words. "Oh sounds Romantic how 'bout we try for a beach location?" she jested, giggling girlishly.

"No not a good idea since that could lead too our two tribes sharing beach front property though Romantic as it may be I don't wish ships from other countries sailing up too our gates.. I am thinking one of the many nearby deserts that way only thing that could become a problem would be sand." Herb countered, while sharing in his friends jesting.

Ranko smiled knowingly. "Okay so we take our duel too the desert where we can have privacy only we will know the final outcome and no others correct?"

"Correct that way your fiancée and everyone else don't have to know you lost a match." Herb said with a smirk.

Ranma gave a confident smirk in response. "What you talkin' 'bout your gonna be the one with the bruised ego by the time I am done with you Lizard breath!"

"Keep spouting nonsense foolish woman you won the first time by dumb luck you will not have any this round and to show I am your superior I will do it in my cursed form!" Herb exclaimed confidently, reaching up patting the blue-and-red-haired woman's cheek.

Ranma and Herb both settled into a long glaring contest, before both breaking into laughter as they started making their way to the council hut to greet the Phoenix.

**Too be continued?**


End file.
